


Catching

by Apollos_Meatballs



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Extended Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst and Tragedy, Bruce and Clark are best friends, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Domestic Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Not Beta Read, Psychological Torture, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Torture, Wayne Family, additional tags to be added later on because i don't want to spoil anything, alfreds sass, barry has bromances with both oliver and hal, bruce wayne allows himself to be happy, bruce wayne being a loving parent to the best of his abilities, bruce wayne deserves to be happy, i love dick grayson with all of my heart, my first attempt at a slowburn, original storyline, pov changes sometimes, secret identities and secrets but OFC is too smart, there definitely is a bromance going on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 42
Words: 133,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apollos_Meatballs/pseuds/Apollos_Meatballs
Summary: Skylar Marie Jones was a simple senior student at Metropolis University until she made one wrong choice and is now indebted to the famous crime lord Steven Mandragora. She's working for one of his men to pay her debt when one day a possible business deal between one of Mandragora's shell company and Wayne Enterprises leaves her face to face with the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.( Extensive DC knowledge not needed, I'll try to explain the concepts as much as I can, you don't need to be a superfan to understand- I promise)(The universe I'm writing in is largely INSPIRED by the DCAMU movies and the Young Justice series. Like a mash-up of those two. So if you saw any of them it'd be easier for you to understand although I don't follow the exact plot of them. However, you might see some hints at them like inside jokes and references)
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Barry Allen/Iris West, Bruce Wayne/Original Female Character(s), Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Past Clark Kent/Diana Prince
Comments: 45
Kudos: 67





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to thescriptwelder for editing this story!

The clouds began to cover Metropolis's sky, the rumbling sound of thunder coming from afar. Roy Hawkins, Steven Mandragora's right-hand man and the one runner of Mandragora's operations in this city, was standing in front of the glass wall, watching the sky with a drink in hand when he heard the door open. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Miss Jones, I'm happy to see that you're improving, it only took you about forty-five minutes to get here after receiving the message," Roy spoke.

Skylar bit her tongue to avoid talking back.

She was never one to hide her opinions but it was her mouth and stubbornness that led her there in the first place and she did not need more trouble. She rubbed the latest bruise on her arm as she tried to crack a smile.

"Of course Mr. Hawkins, I'm sorry it even took this long, I was in the other part of the city," she responded as politely as she could, despite the growing urge to swear at him.

Roy turned around. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, gesturing his glass.

Skylar shook her head. " No sir, thank you," she declined. After all, who knew what he'd put in there. Besides, she'd never accept anything from _him _.__

__He nodded. "Very well, now we can talk about why I asked you here in the first place," he said taking a seat and gesturing for her to do the same._ _

__"As you guess, to avoid legal trouble Mr. Mandragora has some companies under his name. They're there to make sure his 'work' doesn't become suspicious. Do you know how this works Miss Jones?"_ _

__Skylar watched enough movies and TV shows to know what was up._ _

__"I believe they are called shell companies?" she clarified._ _

__Roy nodded. "Exactly, and to keep up the facade, we often make business deals with legit companies, where we don't really need to do work but invest in the other company a bit, keeping the public eye satisfied," he explained._ _

__She frowned. Why was he telling her this?_ _

__"Now, the part where you come in. I'm sure you've heard of Wayne Enterprises, correct?"_ _

__Skylar furrowed her brows. " Of course I have."_ _

__"They're considering expanding their business to Metropolis for some unknown reason and are looking for partner companies for that. They're specifically interested in working with us and if we were to take the deal, our 'shell company' would be safe for at least the next five years, so it is imperial we get this deal, do you understand?"_ _

__Skylar nodded. "I understand the importance but what do I need to do?"_ _

__Roy laid back on his chair and a twisted smirk appeared on his lips. "You're aware that Bruce Wayne, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises' whole reputation is based on being a billionaire playboy, aren't you Miss Jones?"_ _

__She didn't speak, waiting for him to finish, hoping it wouldn't lead where she thought it was._ _

__"You are a fine young lady, enough to charm Mr. Wayne for the night and make sure he chooses us for the deal," he finished, taking a sip from his drink and eyeing Skylar._ _

__She was shocked—definitely uncomfortable, to say the least. The jobs she usually did for them were simple; be the scout and, if necessary, the distraction during their illegal operations._ _

__But this—this was a whole other level._ _

__"Are you aware of what you're asking of me?" she blurted out, her forced politeness jumping out the window. "You never mentioned I'd be doing something like this when you caught me, this is outrageous—!"_ _

__"—Enough!" Roy interrupted sharply, face twisted unflatteringly. "You owe us _two hundred fifty-thousand _for the incident, and if my calculations are correct, you are in no way near closing your debt. If you refuse, I'm not afraid to go after your lovely parents, as you know. You do not get to choose the work you're given Miss Jones. You do what I say—unless you think you can come up with that much money overnight?" he spat.___ _

____Skylar's heart raced with the mention of her parents and their safety, and it was all because of her stupidness. He was right, she needed to pay off her debt—or her parents would, with their lives._ _ _ _

____He composed himself. "I'm sure you can't, so you do as I say, understand?"_ _ _ _

____Skylar nodded in defeat._ _ _ _

____"Great!" he approved and got up._ _ _ _

____"I would prefer not to see that lovely body of yours hurt again Miss Jones, as you see it could be used in our interest in...multiple ways," he smirked, looking down her body lecherously._ _ _ _

____Skylar was wearing normal clothes, nothing revealing but as the horrible man looked at him like that, she felt naked and embarrassed._ _ _ _

____"Mr. Wayne is throwing a little gathering tonight with all of the possible companies, I expect you to be there on your best behavior, the details will be sent to you. I'll send a car to fetch you," he said._ _ _ _

____Skylar nodded, unable to say anything and walking out of the room._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Skylar came home, a little apartment she was sharing with a few other girls close to the campus, mentally exhausted. Her housemates were sitting in the living room, watching TV._ _ _ _

____"—And Superman saves the day again," the female reporter said as Ashley, one of the girls, lowered the volume._ _ _ _

____"Hey S! How was your day?" she asked cheerfully._ _ _ _

____Skylar got the apartment four months ago, a little after she started working for Mandragora, to save more money to pay off her debt. Since they had her work almost all the time, and if she refused the repercussions would be too heavy for her, she usually had to stay in bed for a couple of days. In short, she never really had time to get close to the girls._ _ _ _

____"Fine, I'm tired," she replied._ _ _ _

____"Yeah, you could say that by just looking at you," Crystal, the other girl said._ _ _ _

____Skylar shrugged. " Yeah, I'm gonna go take a nap then get ready. My boss wants me working again tonight," she mumbled._ _ _ _

____"What?" Ashley let out. " This is the fourth time this week, does he know you're human?" she ranted._ _ _ _

____"Yeah, he needs to respect you and give you some time off, this is too much," Crystal added._ _ _ _

____Skylar sighed. "Yeah, I wish, but this is the only decent paying job I could find, anyway, I'm off," she said before she walked to her room._ _ _ _

____She took off her clothes and threw herself to her bed, getting lost in her thoughts and mentally digesting what she had to do tonight. Eventually, she managed to fall asleep._ _ _ _

____Two hours later she woke up. There was a text from Roy saying a car would take her from her apartment in a bit more than an hour. She quickly got out of the bed, rushing to the shower to clean her body._ _ _ _

____After showering, Skylar stood in front of her dresser, trying to pick up an appropriate dress for the night. She didn't want it to be too revealing to avoid any looks from Roy and others like him, but it couldn't be too un-revealing so Mr.Wayne wouldn't lose interest._ _ _ _

____Finally choosing a dress and doing her makeup, she took a deep breath. With every second she was getting closer to doing something she'd never forgive herself for._ _ _ _

____But whether she'd do it or not, she knew she'd never forgive herself because no matter what she did, something awful would happen._ _ _ _

____Being a worthless play toy to a famous playboy for a night? It was like the worst thing possible for her dignity._ _ _ _

____Twenty minutes was left when her stomach growled._ _ _ _

____"Great," she muttered to herself and walked to her kitchen. There, she found a note from her friends saying they went out for dinner. That was a relief because her outfit would be hard to explain without giving all the details._ _ _ _

____Skylar quickly made herself a bowl of cornflakes and ate it. By the time she was done her time was almost up so she grabbed her coat, purse and went out._ _ _ _

____She quickly spotted the black car waiting outside of her apartment. It had started to rain slightly and a guy was waiting by the door with an umbrella on his hand. The guy recognized her and walked toward her, putting the umbrella above her to avoid ruining her outfit._ _ _ _

____It took about a good thirty minutes with the rain and the traffic for them to get to the city center._ _ _ _

____"The thirtieth-floor miss," the driver directed._ _ _ _

____Skylar gulped as she nodded and opened the door. The doorman rushed to her side, opening another umbrella to keep her dry._ _ _ _

____With every step she took toward the elevator, the wait, silently counting the floors didn't help her anxiety. When she stepped off the elevator she was welcomed by a big room, with about sixty people, drinks in their hands chatting. One of the men, standing at the entrance of the elevator grabbed her arm._ _ _ _

____"Mr. Hawkins is expecting you," he said and started walking._ _ _ _

____Roy Hawkins was standing with two of his men, talking with them._ _ _ _

____"Ah, Miss Jones, just in time!" he said when the men left Skylar there and left. "And may I say what an exquisite dress! You look ravishing," he murmured with one of his disgusting smirks again._ _ _ _

____From Skylar's point, she didn't stand out from the rest of the women there, if anything she was worse than them. It only took a quick glance but she could already list at least five more women looking better than her._ _ _ _

____That only made her question whether she'd be able to comply with her task and the fear of failure—mostly what would follow it. She gulped as Roy extended his arm and once she complied, they started walking._ _ _ _

____"Don't forget what we talked about. I'd hate for things to go wrong," he murmured as they made their way to three men standing and drinking together. Skylar nodded._ _ _ _

____"Mr. Wayne, so good to have you here in Metropolis! Welcome, I'm Roy Hawkins," he said cheerfully, pulling out his fake nice personality. The ever so charming Bruce Wayne turned to them as the other two men walked away with frowns._ _ _ _

____"Thank you, I must say I'm excited to discover the potential of this city," Bruce said with one his signature smiles as his eyes drifted to Skylar in curiosity._ _ _ _

____She forced herself to smile. "Delighted to meet you Mr. Wayne, I'm Marie Jones," she said._ _ _ _

____Skylar usually never used her middle name but she thought if she introduced herself as 'Marie' she could pretend to be someone else for the night and maybe, just maybe, it would help her get through the night._ _ _ _

____Bruce took her hand and kissed it softly. His lips were warm and they twirled up when Skylar flushed from the action. " Nice to meet you, _Marie _," he said flirtatiously, emphasizing her name.___ _ _ _

______"I hope you can get to see everything we have to offer you if you do choose us Mr.Wayne," Roy said._ _ _ _ _ _

______Bruce smiled. " Yes, Mr.Hawkins, I can certainly see it," he started, "If you don't mind, we can talk about the arrangements tomorrow at ten? Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the evening," he finished._ _ _ _ _ _

______Roy immediately smiled. " Of course, Mr. Wayne, we'd be delighted to have you over. I'll let you two get acquainted, for now, see you tomorrow," he said and left the two together._ _ _ _ _ _

______Bruce turned to Skylar._ _ _ _ _ _

______"What do you say, Miss Jones, should we dance?" he asked her._ _ _ _ _ _

______What choice did she even have?_ _ _ _ _ _

______She smiled. " Of course Mr. Wayne," she said._ _ _ _ _ _

______Within minutes they were at the center of the room, slow dancing to the song, along with a few other couples._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Tell me, do you think making the deal with Mr.Hawkins is a good idea?" he asked her._ _ _ _ _ _

______Skylar was taken aback by his question. She didn't exactly expect him to ask her questions and actually converse with her._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Uhm, I would say it's a very wise choice, Mr. Wayne, although I hardly think you should value my opinion on the matter," she responded._ _ _ _ _ _

______Bruce furrowed his brows slightly, " Why do you think so?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______Skylar smiled. " You're the businessman, I don't have enough knowledge nor expertise on the field to advise you," she replied._ _ _ _ _ _

______He tilted his head. " I could only assume that you work for Mr.Hawkins and as an employer, I'd just like to get advice from the point of an employee. I think you're qualified enough,"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Skylar bit her bottom lip. " Yes, I work for Mr.Hawkins. And I think you made the right choice," she replied quickly. She felt awkward enough and she couldn't help but picture where the night would take her._ _ _ _ _ _

______A couple of minutes and a little small talk later Bruce excused himself to go make a phone call._ _ _ _ _ _

______As he walked to the edge of the room, Roy appeared._ _ _ _ _ _

______"What did you talk about?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______Skylar huffed. " A lot of small talk and he also asked me what I thought of him doing business with you."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Roy raised his brows, "And I expect you said something positive?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Skylar rolled her eyes, did he even need to ask that at this point?_ _ _ _ _ _

______But what she did was taken as an act of disrespect from Roy and he grabbed Skylar's arm, specifically the part where her injury was._ _ _ _ _ _

______" _Right _Miss Jones?" he gritted through his teeth.___ _ _ _ _ _

________She clenched her jaw to keep her hatred in and not to make a scene._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Of course, sir," she let out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Then Skylar spotted Bruce Wayne, looking over to them with a phone to his ear, watching them curiously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Good, keep it up," Roy whispered as he let go of her arm and Bruce rejoined them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" You know, I have early meetings tomorrow at Gotham before I meet with you, I think I'll leave early if that's not a problem, Mr. Hawkins?" he said charismatically._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Roy nodded. "No worries, Mr. Wayne," he replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce turned to Skylar. "Miss Jones, would you like to join me?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Blood rushed to her cheeks, and all the logic within her screamed 'no', but under Roy's glares Skylar forced herself to smile and nod._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He took her arm gently and started walking, saying good night to the people who greeted him. Skylar focused her gaze to the floor to avoid looking at everyone, she could almost hear what everyone was thinking: _Mr. Wayne's whore for tonight. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She tried to calm herself as they got inside the elevator by focusing on her breathing. They went up to the top floor, where the elevator opened up to the room. It was just as big as the one downstairs, but it was a hotel room. A very luxurious one._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Would you like a drink to calm your nerves, Miss Jones?" Bruce asked as he made his way over to the table where various bottles and empty glasses stood._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yes please," Skylar immediately agreed. She definitely needed alcohol for the rest of the night. She wasn't drunk enough for this crap._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bruce poured two glasses of wine then gestured for her to sit on one of the two separate sofas facing each other next to the big window._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He handed her the glass then sat, laying back comfortably._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"If it was what you're wondering, I will not sleep with you tonight Miss Jones," he commented nonchalantly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Immediate shock appeared on her face. _What the hell? _she thought.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I'd rather spend the night talking, wouldn't you agree?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Skylar was able to nod, not trusting herself to speak._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You can be honest, did they ask you to come specifically for you to spend the night with me?" he questioned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Skylar took a big sip from her glass. " Yes," she said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He nodded. " Against your wishes?" he followed up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She didn't answer. Was it that obvious?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Miss Jones, you see, for us to spend the night talking you have to answer me. I'm sure you wouldn't want me sending you back downstairs? I hardly think your boss would be pleased with that," he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Please, don't do that," Skylar quickly let out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Bruce faintly smiled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes, it was against my wishes, but can you blame me Mr.Wayne? Being used for men's benefits against all my choice is hardly pleasing to any woman, especially to someone with a reputation for being a playboy," she said, instantly regretting it. Her mouth got the best of her, _again. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She expected him to get angry and send her down, but she was surprised to hear a chuckle instead._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"No need to be frightened, I did ask you to be honest. And, no, I can't blame you, Marie, I'm sure not having your freedom in matters like this must be frustrating," he softly said, drinking from his wine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"W-Well, thank you for understanding, and, uhm, not forcing me," Skylar muttered, "I honestly didn't expect this."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Bruce faintly nodded. "And in return, you can start telling me why are you working for Mr. Hawkins in the first place, along with the scene I caught downstairs."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Skylar furrowed her brows, frowning. It wasn't like he actually cared, right? He would forget about her tomorrow, so why bother?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Let's just say I owe Mr. Hawkins a lot of money and I'm working for him to pay off my debt," she told him, mind racing. "As for the 'scene' as you put it, I had tripped over my feet and he was just helping me," Skylar quickly lied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Bruce took a sip from the glass. " I thought we agreed to be honest, Miss Jones."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Skylar bit her lip. " I am, I have no reason to lie to you Mr. Wayne," she insisted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________At that moment, his phone, which was left on the side of his seat, vibrated. He grabbed it and quickly read over what was sent._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Then perhaps you can start by telling me why you introduced yourself as Marie Jones," he replied after a moment, looking up from his phone. "I'm a resourceful man and there's no record of a Marie Jones in Metropolis, but rather a Skylar Marie Jones," he said, turning the screen toward her, revealing her file, showing a picture from her license as well as a full history of her family and education—and she knew that there was likely more._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Skylar swallowed thickly. " I decided to use my middle name, which I don't normally prefer, to survive the night, as we have already established, this night wasn't something I wanted to do," she explained honestly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Bruce nodded in understanding and put his phone away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________" How much money do you owe them?" he demanded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Skylar frowned, she was caught between telling him the truth and telling him to shove his curious nose away and out of her business._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Two hundred fifty thousand," she replied after a moment of hesitance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________He nodded. "And if you were to give this money to them, you would be free of them, correct?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Skylar nodded, somewhat confused. "Evidently."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Bruce took out his checkbook and a pen, quickly scribbled something down and then ripped the page._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"What would you say if I were to give you a check for that exact amount, right now?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Skylar downed the glass. What was he playing at?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"I would ask you why the fucking hell you would do that, especially for me, someone you don't even know," she muttered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Bruce just shrugged. " You remind me of a friend I have, strong-willed with a sharp tongue, and just as her, I would hate to see any women being in difficult situations such as yours. It would also affect my conscience if I did nothing when I so easily can," he explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She scoffed and laughed mockingly. "What, Mr. Wayne, are you insinuating that for an amount of money I'll sleep with you? A girl who is oh so grateful to you for helping her pay off her debt that she'd do anything to please you?" she shot back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________This time Bruce Wayne seemed aback by her sudden burst. "Skylar," he started but quickly coughed and corrected himself when she gave him a glare. _"Miss Jones, _I had no such intentions, truthfully," he said.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Skylar scoffed again. "Yeah, sure. Then why else Mr.Wayne?" she asked skeptically._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Bruce tilted his head. " As you are not giving me the details of your employment, I'll not share my reasoning. The money is yours if you want it," he stated._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Skylar didn't respond. Instead, she turned her head and started watching the view._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"How about this? I'll give you some time to think about it, you can think through it and also see I have no ulterior plans for you or for tonight," he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Skylar turned back to him curiously. " What do you mean Mr. Wayne?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Bruce shrugged. "How about my driver takes you out of the building in secret and drives you home, I go to bed, and your boss doesn't suspect a thing?" he suggested._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________With every new thing he said, he continuously shattered the image Skylar had drawn for him in her mind._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"You would do that?" she blurted out incredulously._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Bruce's lips quirked up in amusement. "Why so surprised, Miss Jones?" he asked in return._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Skylar stammered. "I-I, well, if it's alright with you and my boss won't hear about it, I'd really like that, thank you," she said, somewhat calmed down, more tired than anything else._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Bruce nodded, taking his phone out and texting someone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________A few moments later the elevator doors opened up and a man walked in. Both of them got up and started walking toward the men._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________"Also, Miss Jones, before you leave, I'd like to remind you that, as you were not the person you were forced to be tonight, I'm also not the man the tabloids make me out to be," he smirked, "Good night."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He turned, walking toward one of his rooms while Skylar stood watching after him in yet another shocked stupor._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I’d really like to know your opinions about the story so please don’t be shy to comment through it! Thanks :)


	2. Two

When Skylar woke up next, it was around mid-day. Somehow, she managed to believe in the decency of Bruce Wayne and thought he wouldn't rattle her out to Roy, so she had a peaceful sleep, regaining her strength.

Although, ever since the ride back from last night, one important question lingered in her mind.

Should she accept the money?

On the bright side, she'd be free of Roy Hawkins and all the terrible things she did and had done to her, which was the best thing she could ask for at that moment in her life.

Of course, the memories would haunt her forever, but at least new ones wouldn't be made.

On the other hand, Roy would surely suspect where the money suddenly came from and she didn't want it having any negative consequences on her parents or anyone else.

After all, he’d already threatened her family, and she didn’t doubt that he’d be able to follow through.

To clear her mind and think it through thoroughly, Skylar decided to walk to her favourite coffee shop a few blocks away to have some coffee and breakfast. She swiftly changed out of her pyjamas to comfortable casual wear and left the apartment.

The sky was now clear and there was no cloud in sight. That was good; rainy weather usually made her want to burrow into her bed and never leave.

After getting a sandwich and having breakfast she took out the book she always carried in her purse and started reading it. Skylar had always loved her alone time, where she got to be productive alone with her thoughts.

And that’s why it was a bummer when a man dressed in black approached her.

"Excuse me, Miss Jones?" he asked.

Skylar looked up to the man. Her initial thought was that it was one of Roy's men, but no, he'd send a text if he wanted her to come.

Besides, this guy was too polite to be one of them. Roy’s grunts wouldn’t care about her comfort, they were gruff and shady—they did their jobs and nothing more.

"Yes?" she asked, unsure of herself. The guy's face was unfamiliar and the black sunglasses he had on didn't help at all. He reminded her of those secret agents she’d see on the television.

"My boss is sorry he's interrupting, but he'd like to see you," he informed her.

Yes, definitely not Roy’s men.

Skylar furrowed her brows. If it wasn’t Roy, then who?

"Your boss?" she questioned.

The man sighed and gestured outside with his head slightly. Skylar looked outside and spotted an expensive-looking black car. Just as she did the backseat window rolled down slightly to reveal Bruce Wayne.

"Oh my god," she whispered to herself in disbelief, turning back to the man. "Why does your boss want to see me exactly?"

The man shrugged. "I don't know, miss, but I was ordered to take you to the car, so please, allow me.”

Skylar sighed loudly as she started gathering her belongings and dunking them into her bag. She just couldn't catch a break and this surprise encounter made a lot of questions flounder in her mind.

Within the next minute, she was already sitting inside the car, face to face with Bruce Wayne.

"Mr. Wayne," she greeted him.

"Miss Jones," he started, "Firstly, I'd like to apologize for that back in there, I didn't want to create a scene by coming in and drawing attention to you," he explained.

Skylar nodded. " I totally understand that, but what I don't understand is _why _you wanted to see me.”__

__Bruce smiled and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. " I was wondering if you had come to a conclusion regarding what we talked about last night," he replied._ _

__Skylar sighed. " I haven't yet, actually.”_ _

__"You see, Miss Jones, I'm from Gotham and I don't like staying out of my city for too long. I've had my meeting with Roy Hawkins today and I'll be returning there tonight. I'd like it if I could have my answer."_ _

__Skylar swallowed, somewhat intimidated. "Mr. Wayne, you've made a very generous offer, I won't deny it, and I still don't understand why you're exactly doing it, however, I don't think my problems will end when I take your money and pay my debt.”_ _

__Bruce slightly tilted his head. "How so? Please help me understand.”_ _

__Skylar exhaled loudly. "Don't you think he'll wonder how all of a sudden I got the money? Overnight. He so clearly knows I usually don't have that kind of money. What if he wants more? What if he goes after my family like he's been threatening me?"_ _

__"I see, I hadn't thought about that perspective," Bruce commented and Skylar nodded._ _

__"And that is precisely why I can't take your money, Mr.Wayne. Thank you, thank you so much for the offer, I've never thought you were a man like this and everything you've done for me ever since we met means so much to me but I need to be smart about this," she told him apologetically._ _

__The pair sat in silence for a long moment._ _

__Truthfully, Skylar wanted nothing more than to take his money and leave this whole mess behind, but knowing the real world out there, it would never happen and she was sure to find herself in more trouble than she was in now._ _

__Bruce was the one to break the silence._ _

__"How about I offer you my protection? To you and your parents? What if I give you my word that I'll do my best to protect all of you from them?" Bruce offered abruptly._ _

__Skylar was taken aback by his question._ _

__She sat for a few moments looking at the men in front of her in shock. _"What?" _she blurted out eventually.___ _

____"It's quite simple. I want you to take my money, pay off your debt and I'll also make sure nothing happens to you or your—“_ _ _ _

____Skylar cut him off._ _ _ _

____"But _why?" _she demanded. "Why Mr.Wayne, that you are so willing and demanding to do all of this for me and my family you've never even met before? Hell, you didn't even know me twenty-four hours ago, so please, tell me why?"___ _ _ _

______Bruce listened to Skylar's outburst calmly, even taking a sip of whatever he had been drinking before she got in the car, then clasped his hands over his lap and listened to her._ _ _ _ _ _

______As she composed herself, he shrugged. "Let's just say that I'm sure Mr. Hawkins and the rest of the crew are soon about to be _'revealed' _, and since you're not really a part of the organization I'd hate to see an innocent go down with them," he explained.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar was more confused now than ever. "Are you implying what I think you're implying?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce pouted a moment before shrugging. " I think you're smart enough to read between the lines, Miss Jones," he remarked and smiled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she took a deep breath before continuing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"How exactly do you plan to protect me and my family, Mr. Wayne? If I seem to recall correctly you're not Superman or a hero, you're simply a businessman—don't get me wrong, a brilliant businessman, but still, I think you get my point," Skylar said, trying to soften her words as possible. Men tended to require more sugar coating, in her experience._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Surprisingly, Bruce just chuckled. “No, Miss Jones, I'm certainly not Superman nor do I have any desire to be him," he said. "But I have powers of my own, like money. Just because you don't see me flying around the town, rescuing reporters in distress don't think I'm not powerful or capable of doing anything," he added seriously, the playful tone disappearing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar bit her tongue with his response. Even though the why remained a mystery, all Bruce Wayne wanted to do was help her and she was patronizing him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“As for your question, Metropolis is hardly where I am influential. However, if you were to move to Gotham, I assure you no harm will come to you. As for the rest, just leave it to me," he said. Then he put the check next to her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar looked between the check and Bruce. She let out a startled chuckle. "Mr. Wayne, I'm sure you realize why I have my doubts about changing my whole life and putting my fate in the hands of a man I didn't know yesterday.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce nodded. " Certainly, but I also hope you can see that I do not wish to harm you in no way, I just want to help you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I understand," she murmured._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Then, the car stopped. When Skylar looked out the window, she realized they were at her apartment. She didn't even want to question how the driver found her address, it was a different one from yesterday night's, but this was Bruce Wayne so she decided to leave it at that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"How about this, take the check. It's up to you whether you use it or not. But if you do decide on using it, I'll take care of the rest," he offered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar just nodded, not knowing how to respond. She took the check and put it in her purse._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Goodbye, Miss Jones," Bruce said as she moved to get out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Goodbye, Mr.Wayne, thank you for everything," she mumbled and got out of the car. As soon as she closed the door and took a step towards the door, she heard the car move. She turned around and watched until the black car disappeared._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________When the man in black first approached her she was sure Bruce Wayne would answer some of her questions but she was left with more questions than answers. She sighed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar was having the strangest time of her life because of that man._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Later that day, Skylar decided to take a nap when she came home, Ashley and Crystal were home. Ever since the accident and her winding up with one of the most notorious crime lords, Skylar had stopped hanging out with her friends, as they were the ones who led up to the accident._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________So the only friends, if she could even call it that, were her two roommates. She moved to Metropolis for university so she didn't know anyone else in town. She was originally from Central City, and her friends before university were either scattered around the country or back in the city._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She was unsure of what to do and wanted to get a second opinion but she couldn't tell her parents what was up or they'd worry and try to get involved, which would only result in them getting hurt._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________But maybe getting more acquainted with Ashley and Crystal, and asking their opinion without giving all the opinions would work. Yeah, that could work._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________When Skylar stepped into the living room the girls were watching the news. There was never a boring day in Metropolis. " What is it this time?" she asked as she sat on the sofa. Crystal turned to her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It was the Toyman, he unleashed these toys infused with bombs on the center and Superman defeated him, as always," she quickly explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar nodded. " Great, I take one nap and suddenly everything goes down,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The girls laughed. "Yeah, well, it's no surprise that Superman saves the day, as usual," Crystal commented._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ashley sighed. " I honestly don't know what we'd do without him," she said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Anyway, I wanted to get your opinion on something, about a friend of mine," Skylar muttered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The girl turned to her. " Sure, what's up?" Ashley asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Do you have a boyfriend?" Crystal exclaimed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar shook her head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Girlfriend?" she asked again. Skylar rolled her eyes. "Nothing about romance, and it's not about me, it's about my friend," she replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Crystal pouted, "Fine," she said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"My friend from Central City called me, apparently she made some wrong choices and owes some bad men a lot of money. An amount she can't possibly pay by herself. So she started working for them to pay her debt. Anyway, she met this man, who offered to give her the money. Should she accept it and pay her debt?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The girls thought for a moment. " Yeah, I think so, if it'll help her get rid of the bad men," Crystal said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar sighed. "But she's worried the men will question her on where she found the money. Ask for more if not go after her or her family," she started explaining. " The man also offered to protect her and her family, but still—"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ashley interrupted her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Wait hold up, protection too? Who offered that?" she asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“The man who offered the money also offered to protect her and her family if she decides to take the money and pay off her debt, he's even offered her to move to his city so he could protect him better," Skylar explained further._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Is he in love with her or something?" Crystal asked. Skylar shrugged._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No, they've only known each other for a day," she replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ashley furrowed her brows. " I don't know, it seems risky. I don't know if we can trust this 'man' who offers all this, who is he? Someone from the League or high places?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Crystal shook her head. " I disagree, I think she should take it. Men are full of pride, if he didn't think he could do everything he said he wouldn't offer it, plus your friend gets rescued from the bad men, she should go for it,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar sighed at their response. So far she had one vote for each side. " Okay, thanks for the input," she murmured, getting lost in her thoughts._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce Wayne was a powerful man alright, but was he powerful enough to protect her and her family? And was he serious about following through with his words? Did he really care? Could she really trust him and turn her life just based on a man's word she knew for a day?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________About an hour later Skylar's phone rang. It was Roy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________With a dread-filled sigh, she picked up the phone. " Mr.Hawkins, hello," she greeted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Skylar, hi, I called to say good job. Mr. Wayne told me how satisfied he was from last night," he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Skylar gulped. It looked like he really did as he promised and didn't rat her out to Roy. "Uh, thanks?" she responded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I decided on waiting a bit to call you, I'm sure a man such as Mr.Wayne has surely tired a sweet girl like you," he joked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________At that moment Skylar wanted to transport through the phone and kick his ass five ways to Krypton for ever talking to her that way._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________But she decided against it since it wouldn't do her any good, bit off her tongue to stop herself from talking back like she usually would in situations like these._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Which reminds me, since you seem to excel at these kinds of jobs, in two days we have another thing like this for you, I'm sure you'll charm Mr. Parker as well," Roy continued after her silence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She scowled. Did he just ask that of her? _Again? _Maybe he was going to ask this to her more than once? This was unacceptable.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I don't understand, I thought last night was a one-time thing," Skylar replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Roy chuckled. " Oh, Miss Jones, when will you fully understand that I own you? You do what I say," he said. "Or, I can send a couple of my men to the lovely Jones’ household and they can have a _conversation _with your parents," he threatened.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Skylar bit her lip. Her eyes drifted to her bag, and specifically the piece of paper that was leaning out. The check. The check that could help her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes, sir, I’ll do as you say," Skylar muttered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Good girl, I'll let you know the details," he replied then ended the call. Skylar turned around and almost growled out her anger. She then checked the time and saw that it was about to hit 4 PM._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She rushed to her room, changing her clothes, grabbing her purse and going out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Wait, where are you going?" Crystal shouted after her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"The bank! I have some business to take care of!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It took Skylar about ten minutes to get to the bank. When she handed the check to the worker, she was surprised about the amount and called for her supervisor. They thought she had stolen the check based on her credit. So they called Wayne Enterprises to get an approval. Both of the workers were even more surprised when they got it and had to hand out the money to Skylar._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Within the next forty-five minutes, she was standing outside of Roy's office. She was gathering up her courage to barge in, hand him the money and leave this goddamn place, never ever to return again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________That's when her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She answered it anyway. "Hello?" she asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Miss Jones, it's so pleasing to hear that you accepted my offer. The bank informed me of the transaction," he explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Mr. Wayne?" Skylar asked in shock._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yes?" he replied. Skylar quickly took a deep breath._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Is your protection offer still in the table?" she asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Of course Miss Jones, I've already sent a car to your apartment for you to get to Gotham, I also had my people look for a secure apartment, it should be done by the time you get here," he explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________To say that Skylar's jaw was dropped on the floor wasn't enough to express her shock._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"You did?" she asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Of course, how did you think I spent the last forty minutes?" he asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Skylar swallowed before answering. "Thank you, really, uhm, I-I'm in Mr.Hawkins's office now, I'll go in now," she explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Alright, just give him the money, leave the rest to me," he said. Skylar nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Okay," she mumbled. After ending the call she took a deep breath and barged into the office._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Miss Jones? What's the meaning of this?" Roy shot up from his seat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"I'm done," Skylar stated._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roy rolled her eyes. "Oh, Skylar, I thought we had already established that I own you," he spat as if she were an idiot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Skylar smirked. "Not anymore, Hawkins," she cheerfully said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Yeah, how? Have you perhaps suddenly forgotten that you owe us two hundred fifty and you don't have a quarter of it, so I suggest you leave before I make you regret your actions," he threatened._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Bite me," Skylar snarled, throwing the duffel bag she was holding to his table. Roy looked between the bag and her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He chuckled. "What's this?" he asked. Skylar crossed her arms._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Your money," she replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Roy furrowed his brows, disbelieving, as he quickly grabbed the bag and opened it. His eyes shot open with the amount of money he saw._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________"How?" _he demanded, but before Skylar could reply his phone started ringing. He didn't answer, waiting for her to reply to his question but the phone only kept ringing so he had to take it.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"What?" He shouted to the phone. Then, upon hearing the response, he immediately calmed down, even changing his posture. "Mr. Wayne? I didn't expect your call," he said and Skylar was surprised to learn it was him calling._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Yes, yes, I understand," Roy started muttering, scowling darkly at Skylar as he did so. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and opened them. He glared at her and motioned for her to leave._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She couldn't help but smirk when she did._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Her life had changed yesterday night and it was all because of Bruce Wayne._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	3. Three

From the moment Skylar left Roy's office everything happened like a blur to her. She hopped on to a cab, rushed home and started gathering her belongings. Since she moved in here just about four months ago she didn't have much stuff, making it easier for her to gather.

In about half an hour she was ready. All of her clothes were stuffed in one huge suitcase and two duffel bags. She had to boxes for her books and accessories. After packing them she took out the money she had been saving for the last few months.

She had about fifteen grand. Since she was leaving unnoticed she decided to pay her share of next month's rent along with this month in order to not leave Ashley and Crystal in a tough place.

Obviously the girls were rather surprised with Skylar's sudden move. She had explained that she had gotten a call from her parents, it was a family emergency and that she needed to move back to Central City. Since she put it like that the girls couldn't argue and wished her the best of luck.

When she had gotten out of the apartment she came face to face with the same men from earlier, the guy who approached her in the coffee shop. "Miss Jones, allow me to help," he said, grabbing the suitcase and the boxes.

Within an hour from Bruce Wayne's phone call, Skylar was in a car being driven out of the Metropolis city limits. Up until that point, the adrenalin kept her from thinking clearly, she was only action motivated.

But now that she had a moment to breathe, more like a couple of hours, concerns came flying to her mind. She didn't think this through. What was she going to say to her parents? What about her school?

She was still a student at Metropolis University. What about her tuition, would she be able to get her transfer, would Gotham University even accept her?

What if Roy didn't care about what Bruce told him on the phone and decided to go after her parents anyway? He worked for Steven Mandragora, what if he wasn't afraid of Bruce Wayne? What on earth Bruce even told him on the phone anyway?

What if she made a mistake, an impulsive decision and she messed everything up even further?

As thoughts crept in Skylar's mind and time passed by she drifted to sleep. It was around 7 pm when they left Metropolis and the drive took about five hours.

Around midnight the driver woke her up by gently shaking her shoulder. " Miss Jones, we have arrived," he said. Skylar nodded, sitting up and getting her bags. The guy got her suitcase and boxes and walked to the building.

She didn't know where they were going but she followed him. They got on to the elevator and started going up. They got off on the twenty-fifth floor and started walking again. "Um, excuse me, where are we?" Skylar asked the guy.

" The place Mr.Wayne has prepared for you, it's one of the plaza's he owns, he's rented one of the condos here for you," the men explained. Skylar followed the man in shock. This place was luxurious, one of those places where rich people lived mostly.

The idea that Bruce Wayne went this far for her really made Skylar wonder. In truth, he had so much money the amount of money he had spent for Skylar was nothing to him but it still made her wonder, why would he go in all that trouble?

They stopped in front of a door, with the door number W2556, and the guy put up a card to the lock and the door opened. He left Skylar's belongings inside the entrance, muttered a goodnight and left.

Skylar went inside, closed the door walked in. In the immediate entrance was a small closet with mirrors on front. Upon walking was a living room with the kitchen attached to its right side. On the left, beyond the couches and the TV, was a small but cute balcony.

On the left were a bedroom and a medium-sized bathroom. " Fuck," Skylar whispered as she eyed the apartment. She was going to live here? Bruce Wayne went to all of this trouble and got her an apartment like this?

With a huff, Skylar got to work. She started to unpack. First her clothes, then her make-up and accessories. After that, she organized her books on the empty bookshelf that was in the living room.

It was around three am when she got finished so she threw herself to the big comfy looking bed she was eyeing the whole night and immediately fell asleep. 

Skylar woke up around noon. She hopped on to the shower and took a long relaxing bath. After that, she got ready and went out. If she were to live in Gotham now it wouldn't do her any harm to discover the city.

Gotham was a big city, just like Metropolis, and the first thing she did once she got settled into her dorm room three years ago was to go out to the city, blindfolded in a way and discovered it.

She went out of the building and started walking. The first thing on her mind was to find a market so she could buy some hygiene products and some stuff for the house. She could do a more extensive shop once she got to know the area. After that, she wanted to find a coffee shop and a book shop.

The search got her to spend all day walking and exploring. Eventually, after finding the spots on her mental list and walking around she realized she got lost. So she took out her phone and opened the GPS, trying to find her way back. That way she could learn the city better.

When she got back to her new apartment it was around 7 pm. First, she put all of the things she bought to the bathroom and the kitchen. She hopped on to the couch and opened the news.

" The infamous criminal buddies, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have been reported to escape from Arkham Asylum last night. The pair, immediately upon breaking free, decided to attack one of the warehouses located outside of Gotham City limits, which is known to produce 40% of the country's chemical and technological advancement. The vigilante, Batman, has been reported to be seen there, capturing the two and turning them over to the Gotham City Police Department. We'll connect to Commissioner Gordon shortly for a statement,"

Skylar sighed loudly as she watched the news. It seemed like Gotham was no less active than Metropolis, but hey, at least the city had Batman, right?

To spend the time Skylar got her computer and searched up Gotham University and specifically the admissions. She knew there was no way they'd accept her in the middle of a semester.

Back in Metropolis, she was a Business major along with a minor in International Relations. Both fields really excited her and getting to work in one of them would be a dream come true. She liked to follow the news and being a Business student, she had kept a close eye on the biggest companies in the country, like Wayne Enterprises, Queen Industries, and Lexcorp. Which is why the last 30 hours or so was so fascinating to her. The man she always read about was now saved on her phone.

The Gotham State University had both programs and it seemed like they had many great alumni which only made Skylar more anxious on whether she'd be able to transfer. She had a decent GPA but was it enough for there?

In defeat, she found the consolation in food and ordered pizza after a quick google search. As she was waiting for it she continued her search on the school and listened to the other news.

About twenty minutes later the doorbell rang. Skylar jumped from the couch, leaving her laptop on the counter behind the couch and grabbed her wallet. She rushed to the door, dreaming of pizza.

She was shocked that when she opened the door she, once again, came face to face with Bruce Wayne. " Mr. Wayne?" she asked surprised. Bruce faintly smiled. " I'm sorry, were you expecting someone else?" he asked back.

Skylar shrugged. " Oh, well, I thought you were the pizza," she replied. " Oh, no, I'm afraid I'm not the pizza, but I hope I'm still welcome," he said jokingly. She gulped. "Of course! I'm just surprised to see you here, I thought you were a busy man,"

Bruce softly shrugged. " I am, but I made you a promise. I just wanted to see how you were settling in," he answered. Then he looked at Skylar and upped his brows. "May I come in? I don't mind talking to you like this but I believe we'd both be more comfortable inside,"

Blood rushed to Skylar's cheeks with his sentence. " Sure, of course, sorry," she mumbled as she stepped aside, allowing him to get in. Bruce quickly looked around the apartment. " Seems like you have already settled in pretty well," he commented.

Skylar nodded as she closed the door then followed her. "Yes, this is a beautiful place, thank you again Mr.Wayne, I don't know how I'll ever repay you," she mumbled. Bruce tilted his head, not responding.

" I've also wanted to inform you that you do not need to worry about your parents. I have friends in Central City and they will be watched 24/7 from now on, from a reasonable distance, of course, to avoid them learning about everything,"

He really did that? He really called up his 'friends' whomever they were and got her parents a protection detail?

" Wow, uhm, that's amazing, oh, well, thank you so much," she sighed. " It seems like all I do lately is to thank you Mr.Wayne," Skylar murmured. Bruce smiled in response. "My pleasure, Miss Jones,"

Then Bruce's eyes drifted off to the laptop standing on the counter and he saw that she was on the Gotham University's page. He walked over there and read the page. " You are thinking of studying in GU?" he asked.

Skylar shifted uncomfortably in her place. " Yes, more like transferring. I was a senior back in Metropolis University, but I don't think no university would accept new admissions in the middle of the semester," she muttered. "I'll probably wait for the next one, or the upcoming fall semester, I'll probably have the tuition by then,"

Bruce turned to her. "What's your major?" he asked. " Business and I also minored in International Relations," she answered. " Pretty," Bruce commented. Skylar thought whether he said that to her academic career or to her while looking at him.

She caught his gaze shifting from her to behind her shoulder, the window and outside. He coughed. " I'm glad to see everything is okay with you, you can always call me if there's a problem Miss Jones, I need to go now," he said.

" Oh, okay," Skylar murmured and the pair walked to the door. "I know I say this a lot, but thanks again for everything Mr.Wayne," she said. Bruce only smiled and he left. Skylar closed the door after her left. Once she did her eyes spotted the image in the sky.

It was a bat-shaped figure reflected in the sky. " Huh, this must be the infamous Bat-signal I've heard about," she said to herself.

Then the doorbell rang again, forcing her out of the zone she was in. "Coming!" Skylar shouted, grabbing her purse and rushing to do the door again. After paying and getting her pizza she hopped on to the couch and grabbed her laptop.

She still had many missing pieces and if Bruce Wayne wouldn't answer them perhaps the internet would. So Skylar did something that would on normal terms embarrass and cringe herself, she opened up a new tab and typed in 'Bruce Wayne' as she ate her pizza.

About an hour and a half later, her research got her nowhere. The only thing she could find on him was the business deals he made along with some donations and his nightlife and the women he had been spotted with. The infamous parties he hosted from time to time.

She watched some interviews of him, talking about a donation he made in Africa for the starving people there, another on United Nations and World Wide Fund for Nature. He seemed so charming on there and Skylar couldn't help but blush.

Then she found an article, titled 'Unkown truths about Wayne Enterprises CEO, Bruce Wayne'. It was on a forum so Skylar didn't know it was legit or not but she clicked on it anyway. It talked about his parents, how they died, and Bruce's childhood. It wasn't a long article and she didn't know whether to believe it or not but she couldn't help but feel sad for him.

Maybe that's why he helped her, if it was true, maybe he helped him because maybe helping those in need as a way of his coping mechanism?

Then Skylar startled with the loud coming from the TV. Her attention drifted to the screen. A woman appeared. " This is just in! After today's events of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, it seems like Joker didn't appreciate his girlfriend being handled by the Bat. He has set up a bomb in the Gotham National Bank, along with the security guards as hostages. And look! Batman is here!" the woman on the TV said.

The camera's angle quickly shifted from the woman to the sky. Skylar caught a dark blur jumping from the building they were showing. He landed on the roof of the bank and soon disappeared.

" Idiots, if you announce it the Joker will know he's arrived, there goes the element of surprise," Skylar muttered. But her attention was still on the screen, wanting to know how it happened. Sure, she was a newcomer in Gotham but she knew of Joker, he had attacked Metropolis a few times.

As they were waiting the woman started talking about Joker and Batman and Skylar looked outside of the window. She wondered where the bank was and whether she was closed to it. After a quick search, she found out her new apartment was actually in the middle of the city so she was fairly close to there.

The truth was being from Central City, studying in Metropolis and now being in Gotham City, stuff like this didn't scare her anymore. She was used to it. Ever since she was sixteen the thought of villains and heroes stopped being a big thing since they were part of their daily lives now.

Sure, the first time Flash appeared and his enemies started villainizing the city she was afraid and her parents didn't let her go to school for a week but eventually, everyone got used to it. Now she was watching these news as if they were movies. It seemed like every new day a new villain emerged and tried to destroy a city and the heroes always saved the day.

" Wait, something's happening! I think something exploded," the woman on the TV announced. Shortly after the wall behind her exploded. Someone flew out of it. Then the dark blur appeared beside the man. The two started fighting.

" You've seen it here first people, a showdown between Batman and Joker!" the women said and the camera focused on the two of them. This was the first time Skylar had seen Batman this up close.

Sure she had seen the pictures and other stuff but this was the first time she had seen him in proper action. She was watching the whole thing fascinated. Then Batman threw a punch followed by a kick and sent him to the floor. Before he could get up Batman got on top of him, neutralizing him.

Quickly after the police siren's appeared and Batman got up, throwing the Joker toward the authorities. When the police got close to him he picked something up from his belt, shooting it to the sky, disappearing into the night.

Shortly after that Skylar went to bed thinking about two things in general. How will her life be now and Bruce Wayne.

The next morning Skylar woke up to a phone call. It was another unknown number and looked like it was a corporate number. "Hello?" she picked it up, wondering who would call her.

" Skylar Jones?" the man on the phone asked. "Yes, that's me," she answered. " I am calling from the Gotham University Admissions, your transference from Metropolis University has just been accepted," the man said.

Skylar furrowed her brows in confusion. " My transfer?" she asked. " Yes, it was issued this morning," the man answered. When did that happen? Who did it? " If I understand correctly you're majoring in Business alongside a minor of International Relations, unfortunately since this is in the middle of the semester we're unable to count your credits for this semester. Which means you have to take them in the next semester. But if you'd like you can join some of the courses we have voluntarily. We'll shortly send you an email alongside your student information and you can access the university website with it alongside the necessary information regarding your classes,"

" Okay," Skylar answered, not knowing what else to say. " Good day Miss Jones, we are looking forward to having you at the Gotham University," the man said and ended the call afterward. She was left sitting in her bound, still sleepy and wondering how the hell it happened.

Was it Bruce who did this? He had seen what she was looking yesterday night, but would he still do that after everything he had done for her?

Frustrated Skylar typed his name in Google and the first thing that came up this time was a new article posted an hour ago. It was about the fifty thousand dollar donation he had done to Gotham University Foundation.


	4. Four

Bruce rode into the Batcave in his Batmobile. It was around 3 am. After defeating Joker, he drove around the city, patrolling. He got out of the car and Alfred was waiting for him.

" Welcome back Master Wayne," he said. " Hi Alfred, any news while I was gone?" he asked. Alfred nodded. " Yes, the company from Metropolis called. A Mr.Hawkins has agreed to your terms. Barry Allen has also wanted me to inform you that he's taken care of your request,"

" The Gotham University Foundation also called, to thank you for the donation and that they're naming their engineering lab building after you. Also that the transfer you put in for Miss Jones was accepted," he continued, his curiosity being read through his tone.

" Who's she?" Dick said, appearing out of nowhere. "You should be in bed," Bruce replied, looking over at Alfred. Alfred just shrugged. " You promised you'd take me patrolling tonight with you, so I trained waiting for you," Dick answered.

Bruce sighed. "Don't you have a physics test tomorrow?" he asked. Dick crossed his arms with a smirk. " Who is Miss Jones?" he shot back. Bruce turned around, walking to the changing room. " Go to bed Dick, you better not be here when I get back," he said closing the door.

A couple of minutes later he got out, now wearing his normal outfit. " Why did you let him stay awake?" Bruce asked Alfred. " I tried, the boy is as stubborn as you, sir," he replied. "Although, he did make a good point. Who is Miss Jones?"

Bruce had already started walking towards the stairs, which led to the living room of the manor, and Alfred was following him. " She's a, erm, a friend," Bruce replied. Alfred furrowed his brows at his master's response. But knowing Bruce, he knew he needed to wait before getting more answers.

" Anything else?" Bruce asked once they reached the living room. Alfred shook his head. "Please make sure Dick isn't late tomorrow morning, his test is important. Goodnight," he said. Alfred nodded. "Of course, good night Master Wayne," 

The next day Bruce had a lot to do. He woke up around 10 AM, training and having breakfast until 12. He had a couple of meetings between 1 and 7 PM. After that, he had his weekly meeting with the Leauge.

Around 5 PM, he called Alfred to ask how Dick's test went. Upon hearing it went well, he asked him to inform Dick that he'll be coming with him for the night. It was a Friday so he could stay late this time.

Bruce reached his house a little after 7.30 PM. " Welcome Master Wayne," Alfred greeted him. " Master Grayson has been waiting for you, he's already dressed and waiting for you downstairs," he said. "Thanks," Bruce replied.

Then he went down and got changed into his costume. Dick was waiting for him next to the computer. " What are we going to do today? Kick some thieves asses? Beat some criminals? How about those villains with superpowers?" he excitedly asked.

" I don't know, we'll see, first you're coming with me to the meeting, we'll leave after that," Bruce said wearing his earpiece and giving one to Dick. They both pressed the earpiece. "Watchtower," they said and got transported there.

No one was there when they got there. There were still fifteen minutes left for their meeting. " We're the first ones here, great," Dick said. " Now can you answer my question?" he asked as Bruce walked to the computer there.

" What question?" he asked. Dick rolled his tongue. "The one about 'Miss Jones'," he replied, emphasizing on Skylar's name. "Isn't she the girl you wrote a huge check to?" he followed up. Bruce turned to him. "How do you know that?"

Dick shrugged. " You trained me, I know how to do my detective work," he replied. Bruce sighed. " So, tell me, who is she? Oh my god, are you getting a girlfriend?" Dick exclaimed. " What? This guy's getting a girlfriend?" Someone else joined the conversation.

At that precise moment, before Dick spoke up Hal Jordan, Superman and Wonder Woman had just transported to the room. It was obviously Hal who spoke up. " Hey there, kid," Superman greeted Dick.

Bruce facepalmed under his mask. Maybe he should've left Dick home and got him after he returned from the meeting. Diana walked to the console and leaned on it, crossing her arms under her breasts. " Aren't you going to answer?" she asked Bruce with a smile.

" No," Bruce replied, getting up and walking to his chair in the big circular table. " No, you won't answer, no she is not your girlfriend?" Dick asked. " Who's who's girlfriend?" Flash joined in on to the conversation, seconds after teleporting.

" Dude, get this, Bat has a girlfriend," Hal joked to the Flash. Barry's mouth took the form of an 'o' and he looked at Bruce. " Who is it?" he asked in surprise. " We don't know," Clark replied with a smile as he sat down next to Bruce.

Dick chimed in again. "He doesn't tell me the name or who she is but I know her surname, it's Jones," he cheered. The Flash immediately turned to Batman. " Is that why you asked me to speak to--" Batman interrupted him by standing up and glaring at him.

" Barry, don't say another word," he said. Then he sighed. " I didn't think my personal life involved all of you, but if you must insist, she's a, erm, a friend and that's all you need to know. I think the reason why we're all here is to talk about the Leauge and our work so get on with it," Bruce spat.

Dick and Barry sighed as everyone sat down to their seats. "Way to kill the mood," Hal whispered to Barry. Bruce turned to Dick. "Wait outside until we finish, you can go train," he said. Dick nodded and walked out.

Meanwhile, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter entered, taking their seats as well. " I'm not going to ask but something happened that we missed," Arthur said. Diana shrugged at him. Bruce got up. " Status report?" he asked.

So one by one everyone started talking, telling the rest about the events of the week. Lastly, it was Bruce's turn. " Like we agreed, I went to Metropolis to talk to Roy Hawkins. He has obviously agreed to the terms. I plan to take him and Mandragora down in the next week. Right after he sends me the files, I'll turn them over to the police and to you Superman, you'll get it published," he explained.

" What about what happened with Harley, Poison Ivy, and the Joker?" Diana asked. " What about them?" Bruce asked back. " I stopped them and all of them are back in Arkham," he replied.

" Yes, but how did they escape? If they did it now they can do it again," Diana said. " Good point Diana, maybe we should transfer them to Belle Reve," Superman said.

Barry nodded. " Yeah, I caught Killer Frost and Captain Boomerang, they're being transferred there tomorrow night, we could always include them to that party," he said.

" No, they belong in Arkham, I'll make sure they don't escape from there again," Bruce said. " Anything else?" he asked. No one said a word. " Okay, see you all here again next week, same time,"

Barry and Hal were the first ones to transport. Diana and Clark walked to Bruce. " So, I take it everything went well in Metropolis?" Clark asked. Bruce nodded. "You know it did, he practically jumped at my offer," he replied.

" By the way Bruce, I read about your latest donation," Diana chimed in. "Oh yeah, care to comment? Although I won't promise it'll be off the record," Clark said with a smile.

Bruce sighed. " What's there to comment? I decided to donate," he answered. Then he turned to Clark. "Also, maybe if you'd stop rescuing your girlfriend every now and then you would stop more innocent people from getting hurt," Bruce spat.

Clark furrowed his brows. " Wow, what does that mean?" he asked. " Hawkins, he was forcing a girl to work for him, against her wishes. She didn't tell me much but it was obvious they were also abusing her, she's only a student, that's who Miss Jones is, I helped her get away from Mandragora," he replied.

" What do you mean abusing her?" Diana asked, her tone getting more serious. " Do I need to spell it out for you, Diana? You know what I mean," Bruce responded. Clark took a deep breath. " That's terrible, Bruce, but how could I suppose to know? I am only one person, I can't keep up with everything bad going down,"

Bruce walked to the door. " That's why we have the Leauge, Clark, to ask for help, I'm glad you understand you alone can't help everyone," he said. Diana and Clark stood still, looking at each other.

" He does have a point, Clark, you're not alone, you have us," she said. Clark sighed. " I know," he muttered. " I know Bruce came off harsh but I think he was pointing off the thing that went down with the Toyman, one building is in pieces. Yes, you saved everyone from it but a lot of people lost their homes,"

Clark nodded. " Okay, it's just that I'm still not used to it, I've always been alone but for the past year, everything changed. I'm trying to adapt," he replied. Diana nodded and patted his shoulder. " Anyway, do you think that's the only reason he got worked up?" she asked.

" What do you mean?" Clark asked, furrowing his brows. " He said that's who Miss Jones is, do you think it was because she was hurt and he somehow cares about her?" Diana asked.

Clark thought for a minute. "If that's the case I'd really like to meet that Miss Jones that captured Bruce Wayne," he joked. Diana nodded with a smile.

Meanwhile, Bruce had found Dick and they transported back to the Batcave. They hopped on to the Batmobile, Bruce speeding up on the road. " Dick, I want you to know what you did back in the watchtower was wrong," he said.

" You shouldn't talk about someone you don't know like that, she's simply a friend if not an acquaintance and insinuating something like that about her is wrong. A person is entitled to her privacy and you kind of announced her to the Leauge," Bruce continued.

Dick had started playing with his fingers as Bruce was talking, a sense of regret filling him. " I'm sorry, you're right, but I was curious because you were so secretive of her," he said.

" All you need to know is that she was someone who was in a bad situation and I helped her, doing what we do at night isn't the only way to help those in need," Bruce replied. " That's what I want you to understand, what we do helps, correct, but it isn't the only way, and that is why school is important,"

Dick let out a loud sigh. "Seriously? You've even turned this into a life lesson and a lecture about the importance of school?" he asked. Bruce didn't answer as the screen started giving an alert.

" What is it?" Dick asked. " Robbery," Bruce answered, turning the wheel and speeding up to the location. Five minutes later they were in front of a jewelry store. " Follow my lead," Bruce instructed as he got out of the car.

There were two guys inside of the jewelry. One was grabbing every valuable thing he saw and dunking them into a bag while the other one was standing beside the door, being a scout.

" Hurry up James! I don't want to get caught!" the man by the window said. James chuckled. "And what will happen? The Bat will show up? He doesn't care about little jewelry shops," he replied.

Bruce threw one of his batarangs and it hit right next to James. It beeped and then released a mist. "Oh shit!" James yelled as his friend and he started to take out their guns.

Batman rolled down and entered the shop, knocking one of them down by doing so. Then he proceeded to go after James. " What was that about me?" Bruce asked with his Batman's voice. "Fuck," was James's response.

James started to fire his gun at him but Bruce easily dodged them, because of the mist James was already seemingly trying to shoot the gun at every angle. Meanwhile, the other guy stood up and walked out of the shop, trying to avoid the mist and Batman.

Dick threw a rock to where the other guy was running and when he looked around he jumped out from the darkness and to the car the guy was standing next to. "Leaving your friend? How will your relationship ever heal from that?" he taunted.

The guy took a step back. "You, you're just a kid!" he exclaimed. Dick rolled his eyes as he jumped down from the car. "Sure, call me a kid, but I'm a kid who can beat your ass!" he said.

" You little rascal!" the guy said, shooting forward and trying to punch him. Dick was quick to avoid it and he stepped away. As he was doing so he punched the man on the side of his stomach.

Angrier now, the guy turned around and tried to hit him again. Dick ducked down, avoid his fist and throwing another punch to the guy's crotch. " Scratch your friend, how will you ever be a father again?"

" I'll kill you, I don't care that you're a kid!" the man exclaimed, pointing his gun at Robin. As he started shooting Dick started jumping, dodging the bullets. " I didn't want it coming to this, buddy," Robin said as he reached out to his belt, throwing a mist ball to the guy.

Within seconds the guy was surrounded by mist and he had stopped shooting. Dick ran to the mist and quickly knocked the guy out. After he was sure he neutralized the threat, he dragged him away from the mist, his hands tied.

At that moment Bruce came out of the shop, holding James, his hands tied as well along with the duffel bag he held. " Check if they called the police," Bruce instructed.

Dick walked to the car as Bruce said and started to search up and 911 calls made in the last ten minutes, close where they were. Three was made within the last four minutes. He touched his earpiece. " Three different calls in the last four minutes, which gives us two more minutes until the police arrive," he said.

" Good, stay in the car, I'll be there shortly," Bruce replied. This was the usual deal. They or mostly Bruce would wait until the cops arrived, and after making sure the police got the criminals then he'd flee the scene.

As the sirens of the cop cars got closer Dick took a deep breath. He was now full-on adrenaline and he wanted more. Luckily, their night was just beginning.

The pair went back home around 4 AM. Until then they had stopped four robberies, two break-ins, five arsons. Dick was ecstatic about the night they had. He didn't want to go back and wanted to continue but Bruce knew better. He needed his sleep plus tonight's news would have reached so no one would dare to do anything else tonight.

" Can I come along tomorrow too? I think I did pretty good, huh? I think I deserve it," Dick kept chanting as Bruce drove into the Batcave and got out of the car.

" Master Wayne, Master Grayson, welcome back, how was your evening?" Alfred greeted them. " It was amazing Alfred!" Dick answered. " We caught so many bad men and I kicked some ass!" he continued.

Alfred chuckled. "That's great to hear Master Grayson, but I'm sure you're very tired now after all of it. I've already prepared your bed," he replied. Dick yawned. "Fine, message received Alfred, I'm going to bed, goodnight,"

" Goodnight Dick, and please sleep," Bruce said. Dick sighed. " Okay," he replied. " Goodnight Master Grayson," Alfred said as he watched him leave. After Dick disappeared he walked to Bruce.

He was logging in some information to his database, about the events of tonight. " Has the company from Metropolis sent over the files yet?" Bruce asked.

" No Master Wayne, but when your company called them they said that they're planning to send them over around Wednesday, some approval from their boss," Alfred said. " You mean Mandragora," Bruce replied. Alfred nodded.

" How is the boy? He was so glad to learn that you'd take him out tonight," Alfred asked. " He has sure improved a lot, I can only hope being Robin will stop him from sneaking out at night and picking fights," Bruce replied.

Alfred shrugged. "He is a teenager, it's the expected behavior from his age group. If I recall correctly you were no better when you were his age," he said along with a grin.

Bruce rolled his eyes. " We haven't had a call from the school in months, except for him being late a few times, so I think we're doing a good job," he said, not answering Alfred's last remark.

" Yes, Master Wayne," Alfred replied. Then Bruce got up and started walking. "Master Wayne, I hope you didn't forget about the event you have to attend tomorrow evening,"

Bruce sighed and stopped at the stairs. "Oh, yeah, the one by Elliots, right?" he asked. " Correct, sir, should I send your apologies saying you can't attend if you have something to do perhaps?" Alfred asked.

Bruce shook his head. " No, you know I have to attend, a Wayne never misses events like this, it's important," he sighed. But then an idea popped into his head. "But maybe I can invite someone along?" he murmured.

" Certainly, sir, I'm sure the Elliots wouldn't mind you having a plus one," he said suggestively. "Do you want me to handle it?" he followed up. "No," Bruce said, " I can take care of it,"

Alfred didn't say anything else but watch Bruce leave. He smiled to himself, seeing the out of ordinary behavior from Master Wayne.


	5. Five

It was Skylar's third day in Gotham. She spent the day before by doing some proper shopping for the house, a bit more discovering of the city and relaxing. She also checked the available lessons that she could attend voluntarily for the duration of this semester. That way when she started the spring semester she wouldn't be behind.

She decided to start out her morning by having a quick breakfast then going out again. She had nothing to do until three pm, which was a class on Business Finance. The one she had back at Metropolis was a bit challenging and she was sure the one in here was just as much.

In her mind, she'd go see a movie to spend the time, having lunch then finding her way to the campus. When she got to the theater she purchased a ticket for the earliest movie, which was five minuter later, and quickly got inside the salon.

After the movie, she went back to a restaurant she spotted the day before. She had also read the recommendations of the place and they seemed good enough. It'd take her some time to properly discover the city and the right places for her but trial and error were the way to go.

Bruce hadn't contacted her since he showed up at her apartment and she didn't want to bother him. She knew he was a busy man and she didn't want to overdo anything and annoy him. He had already done so much for her and she didn't want to be a burden even more than she was at this point.

The food she ate for lunch was okay. While waiting for the receipt Skylar took out her phone, searching the school's location and how could she go there. It was far from where she was at the moment.

If she didn't spend too much time on picking the food she might've tried to explore public transportation but she had less than an hour to get to campus and find the classroom. Plus, the GPS had said that it was about a half-hour drive.

Fifteen minutes left to the class Skylar had just entered the campus, looking around for the classroom. It was on M block, class M305. There were a couple of buildings and she didn't know which one was which.

After asking some students and getting some directions she rushed to the classroom. Luckily, she made it just in time before the professor arrived.

Skylar decided to be a silent student, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She'd present herself and be the normal question-asking student she was once the spring semester would start and she would introduce herself as the transfer student. But doing it now would too many questions.

The two-hour lecture went well. This professor was more entertaining than the one she had back in Metropolis. That guy taught each class as if he hated the subject and his life but the one in here was more cheerful. It was obvious this one loved his job.

It was around 6 PM when Skylar went back to the apartment. She was walking toward the elevator when the lobbyist stopped her. "Miss Jones?" he asked. "Yes," she answered.

" You're the one who just moved into W2556, right ma'am?" he asked. Skylar nodded. "Firstly, I'd like to welcome you to our building and to the city. I've heard you moved from Metropolis," he said.

Skylar smiled. "Yes, I did, thank you," she replied. " I've also wanted to inform you that while you were out Bruce Wayne has stopped by," he said. Skylar furrowed her brows. "He did?" she asked. The man nodded in return.

" Yes, and upon not finding you here, he left you a package and a note," he said then walked to the counter, picking up something. He gave it to Skylar. "Here you go Miss Jones," he said. " Thanks," she replied.

After that, the man walked back to his position and Skylar got inside the elevator. Bruce came to see her? And upon not finding her she left a note? Also, the package, what did he brought her?

Skylar rushed to inside her apartment, not wanting to wait long to open the package. She threw her bag and keys to the counter and hopped on to the couch with the package on her lap.

When she opened it, she was looking at a beautiful yet elegant black dress. And it seemed like her size too. Beneath it, she found a handwritten note.

" Miss Jones,

I would be most happy if you would accompany me to tonight's event hosted by Thomas Elliot. It'll be at the Eliott Plaza, starting at 8 PM. I look most forward to see you there. I hope you liked the dress I chose for you,

Bruce Wayne,"

Skylar's initial thought was that his handwriting was perfect. The way he wrote was so adequate and neat. She felt like she was reading one of those letters written by the royals back in the middle ages. It felt so professional.

Secondly, he, the Bruce Wayne, wanted her, Skylar Jones to join her at what she could only presume was a prestigious event? She forced herself to remember who the Elliots were, but all she could remember were the ones from the google search she did on Bruce Wayne.

Elliot's was a similar family to Wayne's, a wealthy family from Gotham who made a name for themselves in the business. Not as big as Wayne Enterprises but still good.

Which only made Skylar more confused. Why did he want her to join her?

Some bad thoughts crept in her mind. What if this was Bruce's way of asking for payback for the stuff he had done for her? Skylar becoming his arm candy. His playtoy.

What if he'd do the same thing Roy did? Asking her to work for him in his own ways in order to make up for what he's done for her? He had even picked out an outfit for her. He was kind of ordering her. He had her move to Gotham even where he could access her anytime he wanted.

Was that what would be of Skylar's life now?

She couldn't help but think she had somehow become a sugar baby for Bruce Wayne and him asking for his sugar. Would she be indebted to men her whole life and act on their orders?

Skylar immediately got angry, setting the package and the dress aside. " Who the hell who think he is?" she let out in order to calm herself. " I didn't ask him to do anything, he offered, INSISTED, and now thinks I'll go running to him?"

" Nope, no, not again," she murmured. She wasn't going to go. He didn't say he would send a car or anything so she could easily avoid going. Plus the event was in less than two hours and she didn't have enough time to have a shower, get ready and go there even if she wanted to go.

Maybe not going would give him the right idea, that he should look for some other girl and she wasn't a person like that.

But didn't he tell her he wasn't the man tabloids made him out to be the night they met? He did but he still didn't fully explain his reasonings behind helping her except for his motive to bring down Mandragora. But then why would he go all to this trouble if he surely didn't want anything in return?

This was all so confusing for Skylar and the more she thought about it the angrier she got. So, to take her mind off of it she decided to watch older episodes of one of her favorite shows.

At that point, Skylar had been binge-watching a show for about five and a half hours and she was invested in it so much that when the doorbell rang she jumped from the sound. " Coming!" she huffed, pausing the show and walking to the door.

She checked the time and it was closing in on midnight. Who the hell would come to her apartment at this godly hour?

Imagine Skylar's surprise once she found Bruce Wayne on the other side of the door, dressed in a flashing black tuxedo just like the night they met in looking mouthwatering.

" Mr.Wayne," she muttered, " What, uhm, what are you doing here, at this hour?" she asked. Bruce half-smiled. "You didn't come," he replied. Skylar looked at him confused. " You didn't come to the event, I waited for you, Miss Jones,"

Skylar huffed. " Didn't you receive my note?" he asked. " I did," she admitted. Bruce looked at her with furrowed brows. But before he could reply Skylar invited her in. She had a feeling people here were talkative, given how the guy from the lobby knew she was from out of town and they especially wouldn't keep their mouths shut with something regarding Bruce Wayne.

" Miss Jones, if you received my note, may I ask why you didn't come?" Bruce asked. Skylar shrugged. " Look, Mr.Wayne, I think we have already established that I am so much thankful for everything you've done, but you were the one who offered, who insisted I take your help. So, if you think that as payback I'll be some kind of an arm candy or--"

Bruce interrupted her. " I had no such intentions," he cut her off. " Although," he sighed, "Now that you point it out I can see your perspective Miss Jones, I assure you I had no such thing in my mind," he said.

Skylar furrowed her brows. " Then why? I've been asking you this since the day I met you, but why, Mr.Wayne? Why do you help me? Why do you keep me around your life?" she let out. Bruce took a moment before answering.

" Because Miss Jones, I'm simply fond of you. The fire within you, your personality. As I've said before, you remind me of a friend. But you're also so much more, you're real, you have heart. I don't have anyone in my personal life like that, and, I, well, you intrigue me," he confessed.

Skylar was shocked. She intrigued Bruce Wayne?

" To be clear, you don't want me to sleep with you or be your arm candy?" Skylar asked again, already regretting her words as soon as they came out of her mind. Bruce faintly chuckled. " No, I don't want you to be my 'arm candy' as you put it,"

Skylar nodded. "So, what do you propose? You must understand that all of this is too unreal for me," she said. Bruce nodded. " I do, which is why I propose we be friends. So you would perhaps stop seeing me as the man who helped you and expects something in return,"

She bit her lip. " I still remember what you told me that night, about the tabloids and you, but I just can't help but think of every possible scenario," she said. " Of course, I understand, as long as I hope you'll stop thinking of those from now on," he said.

" Yes, frankly it's been stressing me out so much," she huffed. Then she sat down at the couch, gesturing him to sit as well. "Also, I'd really like a friend. I stopped hanging out with my 'friends' in Metropolis after the accident and I've lost contact with most of the ones from before," she admitted.

Bruce smiled as he sat down at the other side of the couch.

" Miss Jones, we have met under, well, difficult circumstances and I get why you immediately think what you think. Perhaps if we met differently, your opinions would change. And I get with my reputation why you would think such things. However, I enjoy spending time with you. You are a person unlike any other I know. That's why I asked you to come tonight. These events, well, they get boring after a while but I can't not attend them, it would be rude. So, I thought maybe if you were, I could enjoy the evening,"

With his response, Skylar immediately felt bad. He had something entirely different from what she had in her mind and she regretted not going. She always let her logic got the best of her.

" I'm sorry, Mr.Wayne, now I wish I could be there," she replied. Bruce nodded. " As long as we clear out the air between us, it's not a problem, Miss Jones," he said.

Skylar bit her lip. "If we are to be friends, and I should stop looking at you like the man who helped me, do you think we should switch to first name basis?" she asked. A smirk quickly appeared on Bruce's face. " I'd like that, Skylar," he said.

She smiled. " So, tell me, Bruce, if you can stay late, would you like to do something together?" 

Bruce said that he had a few hours to spare before he had to go back but he had to make a phone call first. Meanwhile, Skylar offered him coffee. While she went to the kitchen to prepare it Bruce called Alfred.

Saying he'd be late for patrolling for a few hours but Dick could go alone, as long as he informed him when a situation started to get out of hand. Plus he knew when to get involved, Bruce had trained him right, and as long as he didn't run into someone like Joker, he'd be fine.

When he was done with the call Skylar was back with two cups of coffee. " Sorry, I didn't know you liked it so I didn't put anything in," she said handing the mug. Bruce smiled. " That's quite alright, I like it black. Thanks," he said.

While he was on the phone his gaze had shifted to the bookcase and he had examined them. He saw a few he knew along with some business books. That didn't surprise her given Skylar's major but he wondered her opinion on particular subjects.

" I noticed your bookcase, do you like reading mysteries?" he asked. Skylar blushed and smiled. " You've caught me, yes, I love them. Especially the ones with a detective and crime-solving. I find them fascinating," she said.

She took a sip from her coffee. "You know, that's why I like your city's Batman, he's kind of a detective, right?" she asked. Bruce seemed surprised by her response but played along. "What makes you think so?"

" Well, I've seen the news for the last three days, plus I've lived in Metropolis, I know he sometimes teamed up with Superman. He's the one who always does all the crime-solving," she said. Bruce nodded and Skylar looked at him in disbelief.

" What? Please don't tell me you have a grudge against Batman too," she said. Bruce furrowed his brows playfully. " What does that mean?" he asked. Skylar rolled her eyes. " I still remember your remark about Superman, it sounds like you don't like them," she said. Bruce shrugged. " I appreciate them," he commented. " Okay, back to my previous point, yes, I like mysteries," Skylar replied.

Then they kept talking.

The kind of books they liked to read then the conversation jumped to business. Skylar told him about her day, the class she went to and they talked about the stuff she was learning, how it was applied in real life.

The fact that she was getting to talk about this with a real and a very successful businessman such as Bruce Wayne came fascinating to Skylar, it was like a dream come true.

Skylar realized how easy it came to her to talk to him. He wasn't judging and he didn't look down to her. He genuinely listened to what she was saying and answered. He seemed like to be a man opposite of Roy. While he always looked down on her, used her and only saw her as an object Bruce really seemed like who was interested in her, in her opinions and thoughts rather than her beauty or anything else.

She didn't think she would become this talkative to someone she met just a couple of days ago. Going to that event that night and meeting Bruce Wayne had been a very good thing for her, completely life-changing, just in ways Skylar would never think. She would have never imagined things turning this way, but she had liked it. Very much so.

When the time was nearing 2 AM Bruce excused himself, saying he had to go now. He had left Dick alone for too much even though he was enjoying his time with Skylar very much. But he had a duty and he couldn't get blindsided.

Skylar understood, he probably had important things to do but appreciated the time they had spent together.

At the door, Bruce turned to her. " So, I think you might be happy to hear that Mandragora and Hawkins are soon to be caught. Probably Thursday," he said. Skylar was surprised to hear that." Really?" she asked.

Bruce nodded. "Yes, they'll probably be locked away for a long time, so if you were still concerned about it, don't be, it's almost over," he said. Skylar smiled. "That's honestly a relief to hear that, really, I can't wait to see that scum Roy behind bars,"

" Exactly, if you like, once it's done I can tell you all about it. Over dinner, next Thursday. As friends, of course," he muttered. Skylar couldn't help but giggle at him. "Sure, sounds nice, Bruce," she said.

Bruce smiled. " Great, I'll call you?" he asked. Skylar nodded. " Alright, good night," he said. "Goodnight," Skylar said before closing the door and can't help but smile.


	6. Six

After their arrangement of becoming friends, the pair didn't see each other until Thursday. During those five days, Skylar tried to catch up on her lessons and attended some more courses voluntarily. She had already so many things to tell Bruce, wanting to know his opinions and take on various things.

Meanwhile, she never missed the news. Every morning the newscast would talk about how many criminals Batman and Robin caught the night before. Commissioner Gordon has also released a statement, about Arkham Asylum and the improvement they had made on making sure no one could escape again.

Skylar was now more sure, Gotham had way more action than Metropolis. Somehow, she wasn't concerned. Maybe it was experiencing everything back in Metropolis, coming face to face with death a couple of times while Superman was handling whoever attacked the city, but she continued her life normally. A lot of people seemed to do that.

Another reason she watched the news was to see whether Hawkins and his boss, Mandragora had been captured. Bruce told her over text that it'd be public, no major media outlet would miss that kind of news. However, so far nothing was on.

Meanwhile, Skylar had also finally gathered her courage to call her family. She told them she moved to Gotham and also transferred schools because of more possible job opportunities there. As expected her parents were surprised but quickly adapted. They also haven't mentioned anything out of the ordinary which really gave her relief on Hawkins wasn't going after them.

Around Thursday noon Bruce texted Skylar. He asked whether 8 PM was a good time for her and if she could find the restaurant on her own. Skylar typed the restaurant's name and saw that it was a real fancy one.

It was in one of the skyscrapers, with a view of the whole city. It was also close to her apartment, about a fifteen-minute walking distance. She quickly texted him back saying the time was good and she'd manage on her own.

After that, she watched a movie, took a shower and started getting ready. It was a fancy restaurant and she didn't want to seem either underdressed or overdressed for it. It took her a while to choose a dress that fit for it.

Around seven-thirty she walked out of the apartment. It wasn't a long walk and she was at the entrance of the skyscraper shortly. Skylar went in and walked to the elevator. She had no idea which floor the restaurant was in but she hoped the buttons in the elevator would help her.

When she stepped out she was greeted with an amazing view of the city. All the tables were distant from each other, meaning people would easily be able to have private conversations. The light was a bit dim but the candles in the middle of the tables helped the brightness enough.

A woman greeted her. " Hello, welcome to the Hillstone, your name please?" she asked. Skylar didn't know what to answer. This didn't seem like a place you could just walk in without reservations. Did Bruce made one?

" Miss?" the woman asked again. Skylar gulped. " Skylar Jones," she said. The woman smiled and started looking down at her chart. After a minute she looked up again. "Yes, reservation for two, follow me please,"

Then she took Skylar to a table, farthest away from the others and with possibly the best view in there. " Your waiter will be with you any moment," she said then left. Right after she did a man dressed in a professional outfit came.

" Good evening Miss, I will be your waiter for the night. While you are waiting for your guest may I offer you a beverage?" he asked. " Uh, sure, water please," she replied and the waiter nodded.

While she was waiting Skylar took out her phone and sent Bruce a text saying she was there. Then she started to go through her social media to spend the time. She was so invested in a flood she was reading on Twitter when she heard a cough.

" Oh, hi," she said with a smile. " Hi, you're early," Bruce said as he was sitting down. Skylar shrugged. "Yeah, the apartment was close to here and I thought I'd walk," she said. The waiter approached the table again.

" Mr.Wayne, welcome, what would you like to drink?" he asked him. Bruce looked over and saw that Skylar was having water. " I'll join my friend and stick to water," he answered. Skylar gave him a look. " You can drink if you want, I have a 9 AM class," she said.

Bruce tilted his head. "No, it's better if I don't drink, tomorrow's going to be a busy day," he answered. "How so?" Skylar asked him. Bruce pouted as he opened the menu. " It's going down tonight, I'll probably have to fly to Metropolis for a testimony," he answered.

" Oh," Skylar said, opening the other menu and looking at the food. " You know, I'm so glad you didn't pick a fancy-ass European restaurant where I wouldn't be able to understand what the title meant and order something I didn't know," she said with a smile.

He looked up to her from the menu with a smile. " Good job for me then," he chuckled. For a few seconds Skylar just gazed at him, focused on his face, his eyes, the way they looked at her. She got lost in the moment.

" Skylar, what do you think?" Bruce asked her. That's when she snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry, what?" she apologized. " Do you prefer chicken or fish?" Bruce asked again. "Chicken, definitely," she answered.

After that Bruce quickly gave the order. " Trust me, you'll love it," he said after the waiter left. Skylar bit her lip. "We'll see," she joked.

Then Bruce coughed. " I suppose I should start telling you about the thing," he started. Skylar nodded. " Hawkins sent over the company's files to me, which kind of proves they're a shell company and I've turned them over to the police department. There will be two simultaneous raids, one in Metropolis and one in Gotham since Mandragora is here," he explained.

Skylar was drinking water when Bruce was telling her about the last part. " Wait, what do you mean he's here, in Gotham?" she asked, fear coming out on her tone. " Is there any way he knows I'm here? Am I in danger?" she quickly followed up.

Bruce shook his head. "No, Skylar, I told you I'd protect you, as far as he's aware you paid your debt," he said. Skylar furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" she asked. Bruce shrugged. " I told you I'd take care of it, I told Hawkins if he wanted the deal to work he should let go of you, get his money and forget about it or he could kiss the deal goodbye,"

She looked at him in disbelief. " You potentially jeopardized the deal that would put away a lot of bad men just for me?" she asked. Bruce took a sip from his water. " Skylar, as a business student, you should know, all the other in Metropolis were fighting over for a deal with me, I was the one who picked. It doesn't really matter what I asked for because they would give it to me, they had to, they needed this deal. So, using that in your benefit was just a bonus. But if you'd like a proper answer, yes, I did," he explained.

Skylar looked at him trying to make up a sentence in her mind. " When you put it like that, it does make sense, yeah, I think I even remember something like asking whatever you want in a negotiation if you know you have the upper hand from one of my past courses, it just surprised me, that's all,"

Bruce shrugged. " Anyway, even with just one look I could tell the numbers they put in the file were fake and after some calls and digging, it wasn't hard to prove they were illegitimate. That gave the DA's office enough proof to take action. You know, actually," he said looking at his watch, " It should go down in a few minutes," he continued.

" Amazing," Skylar said. " Although, I have one question," she said. Bruce nodded gesturing her to continue. " You said you could understand the numbers were fake with one look. How did you do it?"

Bruce smiled. " Easy, if you know where to properly check and if you have the right knowledge. You check the other companies they've worked with, where they put their money into and how much they gained back. For example if they do a business or an investment as Hawkins likes to do with a small company, let's say with a yearly income of two hundred thousand it doesn't make sense he invests fifty thousand there and gains seven hundred thousand back. Something's completely missing," he explained.

Then the waiter came back with the food. Skylar took a bite out of it. "That's amazing," she commented. " The food or my business mind? My answer is I know for both," Bruce joked. Skylar giggled in response. " The chicken's pretty good too, you were right,"

They talked for a little more and right after they were finished with the food Bruce's phone vibrated. He quickly took a look at it. " The raid in Metropolis was successful, they got Hawkins," he mumbled. " Great, what about the boss?"

Bruce sighed. "They haven't informed me yet but I'm sure they'll get him too," he said. Then he asked for the check. He paid without letting Skylar even try to pay. " Don't, I invited you out tonight so I pay," he said.

Skylar rolled her eyes. " Fine, but that just means the next one is on me, alright mister?" she asked. Bruce chuckled. " Sure," he answered. Then they got up. " Good evening Mr.Wayne," the woman at the entrance said as they passed by.

When they got out of the building Bruce turned to her. " Can I walk you back to the apartment?" he asked. Skylar shrugged. "Sure, if you've got time to spare," she said. Bruce nodded and they started walking.

" By the way, Skylar, from a friend's point of view, you look amazing tonight," he said. Obviously, she immediately blushed at his words. "Thank you," she let out. " I was worried I'd look out of place when I looked up the place online,"

" Nonsense, I'm sure you'd still look good," he replied. Skylar nodded and smiled as a response.


	7. Seven

Three weeks had passed since the dinner Skylar and Bruce had. During those weeks both of them had been very busy and had only met up once. Skylar was busy with her classes, after checking the course calendar more properly she had found more classes she could attend to.

Even though she wasn't taking the exams or doing the assignments she was still studying for it. She had gone to the university's library then to the Gotham City Public Library to pick out some books that could help her understand the subjects better.

Just like Bruce said the next day after their dinner the morning news was talking about Hawkins. The raid in Metropolis went well and the police managed to take everyone. The one in Gotham however, somehow Mandragora was tipped off and he escaped. Most of his men were captured but he was gone.

While Skylar was in the library reading an article on International Political Economy when Bruce texted her that whether she was free tomorrow for lunch. She had a class but they hadn't met up in a long time so she decided to ditch it. He asked her to come over to Wayne Enterprises and they could decide where to eat from there.

She had never been there but once passed closed when she was walking around the city to pass some time. It was a very big building that captured your attention. It had a big logo of the letter 'W' at the top. Skylar was kind of sure that's where Bruce's office was supposed to be, on the top floor and now she was going to find it out.

Bruce told her he had a meeting starting at 11 AM, it was a weekly budget meeting with his staff and it shouldn't take longer than an hour. An hour and a half at max so they decided to meet around 12.30 PM.

Since Skylar's first month at Gotham was nearing she had learned how to use the public transformation properly. She learned the bus numbers, the routes of both buses and the subway. It was fairly easy once you learned several hotspots. Gotham was a big city but after almost a month she could find her way easily now.

So a little before 12 Skylar left the apartment and started to walk to the bus stop. She needed to take this one to the transport station and then another one to get to where Wayne Enterprises where. Since it was midday there was almost no traffic so it shouldn't have taken her a long time to get there, just about thirty minutes.

Just like she had planned Skylar was standing outside of Wayne Enterprises roughly thirty minutes later. She walked in and a security guard immediately stopped her. "Excuse me miss but if you don't have the clearance I can't let you through,"

" Uh, I was actually invited by Bruce Wayne, he's expecting me," she answered. The guard looked her up and down for a while, probably determining whether she was lying or not based on her appearance. " I need to call it in," he said.

Then he took a step backward and grabbed a walkie-talkie from the security counter. " What is your name miss?" he asked her. "Skylar Jones," she replied. Then he brought the device to his mouth, " I have a Skylar Jones here saying Mr.Wayne was expecting her," he said.

At first, nothing happened but the sizzling coming from the device but then a woman spoke up. "This is Claire from Mr.Wayne's office, you can send Miss Jones up," she said. Skylar looked at the guard with a smile. " Which floor?"

Just as she expected Bruce's office was on the top floor. While inside the elevator she couldn't help but get excited. This was the first time she'd see Bruce in his work environment. Here he wasn't just her friend Bruce but rather the businessman Bruce Wayne.

When she reached the floor she immediately spotted Bruce's office. His name was written in big shiny letter and it was hard to miss. There was a desk in front of the door which Skylar could only assume was his secretary's but she was nowhere to be seen.

Skylar knocked on the door faintly and stepped inside. There she found Bruce talking to a man. " I'm still looking for Mandragora but he's off the radar," Bruce was saying when Skylar entered. He looked up to the door furiously but when he saw Skylar he had calmed down.

" Hi, am I interrupting?" she asked wondering whether he was in a meeting. She was intrigued upon hearing the crime lord's name but she decided not to stick her nose in it, it was no longer her business anymore and Bruce would fill her in if he thought she needed to know it.

Bruce got up. "No," he replied. " If you are talking about something private I can just wait outside, no problem," she quickly said. Bruce shook his head.

" No need," he said. Upon hearing that Skylar closed the door after her and looked up to both men standing in front of her. The guy she didn't know was looking at her curiously. " Skylar, meet my friend Barry Allen," Bruce said.

Skylar walked up to him and reached out her hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, I'm Skylar Jones," she said. While they were shaking hands Bruce faintly smiled. " Barry's a friend of mine from Central City," he said.

Her face lighted up at the mention of her city. " Really?" she asked. Barry nodded. "Yeah, you've been there?" he asked. Skylar smiled. " Born and raised there actually," she replied. At her response, something seemed to click on Barry's mind. He immediately smiled and turned to Bruce then back to her.

" So pleased to meet you, Miss Jones, Bruce has mentioned you once or twice," he said with a smirk. As blood rushed to Skylar's cheeks she looked at Bruce. "Really? I hope he said good things," she mumbled. " Absolutely, although since he's not the most talkative person alive I don't know much about you,"

Bruce coughed. " Barry," he muttered. Skylar was surprised upon learning Bruce had talked about her to his friend and him not being a talkative person because he was surely very talkative around her.

" Sorry," Barry replied with a smile. " Just got excited to finally meet mysterious Miss Jones," he added. Bruce looked like he wanted to roll his eyes whereas Skylar felt embarrassed, blushing even more.

" Are we still on for lunch or?" Skylar asked, wanting to change the subject. For some reason she got nervous. " Yes, Barry just gave me a surprise visit," he said. " Oh, well, in that case, would you like to join us for lunch?" Skylar asked.

Before Barry could answer Bruce interrupted. "Actually Barry has to go," he said. Barry turned to him with his brows furrowed. " I do?" he asked.

Bruce sighed as he gave him a look. Barry took a deep breath, understanding his message. "Yeah, yeah, I do. My plane is leaving in an hour, I better get to the airport," he mumbled. Skylar watched the interaction amused, relieved the attention was off of her.

Barry turned to Skylar. "Anyway, it was really nice meeting you, Skylar," he said. She smiled." Likewise Barry," she replied. " We'll talk later Barry," Bruce sighed. Barry winked. "Yeah, see you tonight," he said before going out.

Skylar turned to Bruce confused. " Doesn't he have a plane to catch?" she asked. Bruce nodded. " Then how will he see you tonight? Are you going to Central City?" Skylar wondered. He took a moment to reply. " Eh, he probably meant the video call, we're scheduled to have one for tonight," he said.

"Oh, okay," she mumbled. " So, what are we having for lunch?" she asked. 

They decided to order into the office. Skylar had mentioned she found this new place where they made amazing sushi and wanted him to try it. While they were waiting, Skylar turned to Bruce.

" Why didn't you tell me about your friends?" she asked. Bruce furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" he asked. " Well, your friend Barry told that you mentioned me but you never told me about him," she explained.

Bruce took a deep breath. "Oh, well, I don't know. And to be honest they asked me about you but to respect your privacy I didn't tell them much. But I had to give Barry some details since he's my connection in Central City who took care of the protection details of your parents," he explained.

" He was the one?" Skylar exclaimed. " You should have told me, Bruce! I would've thanked him," she continued. " I'll pass it on?" Bruce asked. Skylar huffed. " Fine, also who's them? You said they asked you about me,"

Bruce sighed. " Well, you see, I have this group of people, where sometimes our paths cross. We all do our own thing but sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we have to work together, where, erm, our interest align," he mumbled. " Cool, so they are your friends from work?" she asked, made her voice thicker at the last words.

" Was that a reference? Because I didn't get it," he replied. Skylar giggled. " Yeah, it was. I seriously need to make you watch it," she said. "Okay," Bruce said, " Also, when you put it that way, yeah, they are in a way,"

" Anyway, I checked out some of the books you told me, I finished two of them and the third one's about to end and I just want to say great pick," she said. Bruce smiled. " I'm glad you liked them, they're a bit ahead of your courses but I was sure you'd be able to follow,"

They talked about the books and Skylar's courses for a while. Bruce also answered some of her questions regarding business. Then someone knocked on the door. " Come in," Bruce called out.

A brunette woman came in holding a bag. "Mr.Wayne, I brought your order," she said. "Thank you, Claire, you can leave it on the table," Bruce replied. The woman quickly did as told then left. " Was that your assistant?" Skylar asked as she reached over and started to take out the food.

" Yes," Bruce answered as he got up and sat next to Skylar on the couch. " She seems nice," she mumbled. " She is, she's very good at her job," Bruce said. " Anyway, tell me what kind of sushi is that one?" he asked.

Skylar turned and quickly looked over. "Okay, so I remember you telling me how you didn't like most raw sushi's so this is a cooked one. The outside of is crunchy and it has salmon in it. I'm sure you'll love it," she gushed.

" Sounds nice," he replied. Skylar nodded while she ate one. "It definitely is, I tried them last week, it was very good," she said. " Do you like sushi much?" he asked. She shrugged. " Yeah, it's definitely in my top ten list,"

" Back in Central City the place I loved was in the other part of the town and they weren't doing deliveries to where my house was. So I only got to go if my parents brought me or if my friends were able to get their cars from their parents, you see my parents didn't trust me with the car just because I got it scratched ONE time, so I actually tried to learn how to make sushi at home from watching YouTube videos, needless to say, they didn't turn out very well, I usually suck at cooking anything that takes more than twenty minutes, but I make killer pancakes, just so you know,"

Bruce watched her ramble with a faint smile on his lips. When Skylar realized she blushed and took a deep breath. "Sorry, sometimes I get too caught up," she mumbled, tucking her hair behind her ears. A habit she'd always do once she welt nervous." It's okay, I quite enjoyed it, how did you exactly scratch the car?" he asked.

Skylar rolled her eyes. "It wasn't even me! The car was parked, I was watching a movie with my boyfriend at the time and we realized it after the movie ended. It happened while we were in the movie and obviously we didn't look at to the other people parked around us so I don't know who it was. And it was a very small scratch, it didn't even cost twenty dollars to repaint that part,"

" But your parents still blamed you?" he asked. Skylar nodded. "Yeah, and then I was only allowed when one of them was with me and they got to park the car mostly. And then I came to Metropolis, I don't even remember when I last drove before honestly," she sighed.

He tilted his head at what she said last. " Would you like to go for a drive sometime?" he asked her. Skylar chuckled. " Really?" she asked. Bruce shrugged. "Why not? It'd be good practice for you and I can judge how good you drive,"

Skylar rolled her eyes. "I already have two judges that I call mom and dad, I don't need another one buddy, but a drive sounds nice, where can we go?" she asked. " Depends on how fast you like to drive," Bruce smirked. " Okay, I see your point," she replied with a smile. 

Twenty minutes later they had finished eating and picked up the trash. "So, what do you think? Was it as good as I told you?" Skylar asked. " I've definitely eaten better on my trips to various Asian countries," Bruce smirked. She rolled her eyes, " Show-off," she muttered.

" But seriously, was it good or not?" She asked. " I'll admit it was good," he replied. " Ha! I knew it!" Skylar cheered. But before Bruce could answer his phone vibrated. He took it out and upon seeing whatever it was on the screen his face got serious.

" What is it?" Skylar asked. Bruce shook his head and called someone while putting his hand up. " Get to the garage now," he spat on the phone then turned to Skylar. " I just called my driver and he's going to take you home, you should stay there and not go out until I tell you," he said in a serious tone that Skylar had never heard before.

She furrowed her brows as she got up. " What's going on?" she asked but he didn't answer, opening a drawer and taking some stuff. Then he quickly walked toward Skylar pulling her by the arm to the door.

Skylar pulled her arm back in a rush causing her back to lightly hit the door. She had closed her eyes from the impact and she opened them back up Bruce was standing centimeters away from her. They were standing so close. " Bruce!" she spat angrily. " Tell me what's going on, now," she demanded.

Bruce took a deep breath. " There has just been an attack in the city center, I don't have time to fully explain the details right now but I need you to be safe," he quickly said. Skylar looked at him in disbelief. " An attack? How? Who?" she asked.

Then quickly she realized something. "And you? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere safe too?"

" I will be, I just have to do something first, please, can you trust me on this?" he asked, unintentionally leaning forward as he was talking. Skylar gulped, her gaze shifting between his eyes and mouth.

" I do trust you," she whispered, not being able to sound louder. Her throat was suddenly very dry. She gulped. How could she not trust him? He had done so much for her and he was a good friend. Of course, she did, with all of her heart.

Bruce nodded. " Thank you," he sighed. Skylar bit her lip. "Uhm, can you move? I can't get out," she mumbled. " Oh, sorry," Bruce said, looking at her eyes for a moment before slowly taking a step back. Then he seemed to be snapping out of something so he grabbed Skylar's bag handed it to her.

" Let's go," he said, opening the door with one hand whilst gently pushing Skylar's back, leading her toward the elevator. After that, they quickly went down to the garage. Bruce stayed there watching the car until Skylar was in the car and it started driving away, going out on to the road.

During the ride Skylar took out her phone, looking over the Internet to find what was going on. So far there wasn't a specific thing, people were just saying that there was an attack and everyone was speculating a different villain.

She gulped as she heard a loud explosion noise came. " What was that?" she asked the driver. " I don't know ma'am but it sounded like a bomb went off," he answered. She wished to reach her home as soon as possible and hoped Bruce was fine.


	8. Eight

As soon as the car had left Bruce's eyesight he turned around taking out his earpiece from his pocket. He had taken it earlier from his drawer back in the office. " Clark, Diana, I need you to come to Gotham, now!" he said.

After that, he quickly rushed to his car, where his suit was. He put it on then started driving his car to where the fight was going down. While he was driving Clark called him. " I'm on my way, what is it?" he asked.

" It's Metallo, he's wreaking havoc in the city," Bruce quickly said. " What! How? He was supposed to be locked down in S.T.A.R Labs," he replied. " I don't know, he escaped, he might've overridden his system, getting stronger and breaking free,"

Diana chimed in. " I'm five minutes away, how close are you Clark?" she asked. " I'm almost there," he replied. Bruce sighed. " You go deal with it, I'll go to S.T.A.R Labs, try to figure out what he has done,"

Superman and Wonder Woman agreed, all three speeding up to get to where they were going. Batman saw Superman diving in from the sky and punching Metallo as he neared the lab. He quickly got out rushing inside.

A part of the building was in pieces. It was the place where they use to keep him. Batman dived inside the lab. There were ruins everyone, all the machinery was destroyed.

" Help! Is someone there?" Someone called out in agony.

The voice was coming from over the computer ruins. Bruce rushed there, throwing away the pieces. A man wearing a white coat was revealed. He helped him up, reading his name tag. "What happened here?" Batman asked. The man looked in fear.

" He killed Carl! We were studying his systems, he was tied up. Then the system started giving alerts and before we know he had broken free. He started blowing up everywhere. He blasted Carl," The man exclaimed in frustration.

" What were you doing before he got out?" Bruce asked. " Looking at the details of his latest software, where his power source came from," the man answered. " Do you have a copy of what you were looking at?"

The man nodded. " Everything is synchronized, it should be in the database," he mumbled. Bruce then turned around and rushed out, pressing on his earpiece. " Alfred, tell me where S.T.A.R Labs stores their databases," he said.

" It's two stories down from where you are, should be on your left when you get down, sir," Alfred immediately replied. Bruce had spotted the stairs to his right, running down there. Just as Alfred said the room was easy to find. He picked the lock then sat on the computer. As he was searching through the files to find the exact one he took out his device to transfer them.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Superman weren't having much luck. " He seems stronger," Diana said. " He is," Superman replied. " Doesn't matter, we have to stop him from harming anyone," she said.

After that, she dived toward the ground where Metallo was beaming kryptonite through his eyes, hitting a few buildings around. " I can't get close to him while he's doing that," Clark said as he grabbed a big piece of concrete falling from the beams of Metallo and about to hit civilians. Diana nodded, landing next to Metallo.

He turned the beam towards her and Diana crossed her arms protecting herself by her bracelets. When he was done she took a step forward throwing a punch. The robot seemed unaffected by it so she threw another one.

Metallo hit Diana sending her meters away. She quickly got up and took out her lasso, throwing it and capturing Metallo. That's when Superman flew to Metallo, hitting him repeatedly. The impact was on hard on him, parts of his body being destroyed but he beamed Superman at the last attempt.

Superman fell back being affected by the hit and the Kryptonite. Metallo then turned to Wonder Woman, ready to blast her. Just as he did Batman swooped in taking Diana and herself out of the way. " He has upgraded himself, he's stronger, but not unbeatable," he said.

" How do we do it?" Diana asked. " The same way Superman beat him before, we have to remove his head from his body, that's how he controls the Kryptonite and the rest," he answered. " Keep him busy, I've got an idea," he added, running to Superman.

Wonder Woman jumped toward Metallo, gaining his attention. She hit her bracelets against each other, creating an effect that would keep him occupied and hopefully give her friends the time.

Batman kneeled next to Superman. " Can you fight him?" he asked. Clark sighed. " Not as long as he keeps shooting Kryptonite at me," he replied. Then Bruce took out something from his belt, placing it over Superman's body. The little thing immediately emerged, covering Superman's body.

" What's this?" he asked. " Something I've been working on, should keep you safe from Kryptonite," Batman answered. " I'll ask later," Superman said getting up. While he did Metallo hit Diana, crashing her to a side of a building.

Superman sped up toward Metallo sending him away with a punch. Metallo got up and beamed Kryptonite at him. Clark took the attack but it didn't affect him. " Ha, what about that," he muttered with a smile as he lunged forward to attack again.

He started hitting Metallo. As a response, Metallo kept hitting him with the beam. Superman wasn't sure how long the device could keep on getting hit. At the corner of his eye, he spotted Diana coming toward them. " Diana!" he shouted throwing Metallo at him.

Diana grabbed one of the lampposts Metallo had destroyed earlier and hit him, sending him toward the Sky. Superman flew above him getting ready to hit him to make him hit the ground, hard.

As Metallo's body crashed to the ground, creating a little dent, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman quickly went there. " Quick, before he gets up we must extract his head," Batman said. Superman nodded, kneeling down to hold Metallo's head.

Once it was done Diana sighed. " What are we going to do with the parts?" she asked. " It's clear S.T.A.R Labs isn't secure enough to hold him, we should store it in the Watchtower. We could intervene earlier and there wouldn't be this much damage," Batman answered.

" What about the rest of his body?" Superman asked. " Let's take them with us now, we'll decide it at the meeting," he said then called his car. Batmobile showed up within minutes. He gathered the other pieces of Metallo's body. " I'll take them there," he said putting them in his car.

" Where are you going?" Superman asked him. " I've got a few things to take care of, let's meet in the Watchtower in an hour, let the others know," Batman answered. Then he got on his car driving away.

Bruce went back to his house, wanting to examine the pieces for himself before and logging them onto the database. He was back in the Batcave within minutes. He immediately picked up the pieces and lay them on a surface.

" Sir, may I ask what you're looking for?" Alfred asked. " To find whatever caused him to override the security measurements in the first place, what turned him on again," Bruce replied. " I've uploaded the files you sent over from S.T.A.R. Labs, perhaps they could help,"

For the next thirty minutes, Bruce examined them. He also looked at the files and cross-referenced what he found. In the end, he found out that the scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs messed one of the codes on his software, causing him to wake up.

After that, he went to the Watchtower. Diana, Clark, and Jonn were already there. Bruce walked over to the computer they had over there and started to transfer the things he had found. " So, what did you find out?" Clark asked.

" It's better when I tell it once everyone's here," Bruce replied. " Fair enough," Clark said. " Although now might be a good time for you to explain how you had that thing that protected me from Kyrpytonite," he added.

Bruce looked at him. " Was it a bad thing?" he asked. Clark sighed. " No, but it might've been good for you to mention it rather than hiding it," he replied. " You know now," Bruce spat. " About the things he's hiding, I talked to Barry," Diana said with a smile walking near them.

" He told me about the little run-in you had today," she added. " What about it?" Bruce asked. " Nothing, but it must've been very special if you practically kicked Barry out, he doesn't mind it by the way," Diana said.

Clark turned to her. " What happened?" he asked. " Barry met Miss Jones," she explained. " Ahh," Clark said turning to Bruce. " Is that why you were late?" he asked smiling. Bruce rolled his eyes instead of answering and focused on transference.

" Someone who made Bruce late to save the city, I want to meet this girl dude," Clark said patting Bruce's shoulder. Bruce turned to him. " Where did you put Metallo's head?" he asked. " I preserved it in one of the rooms back there," Jonn answered.

Bruce got up to walk out of the meeting room to where Jonn described. " Wait, Bruce," Clark said speeding next to him. " Have you read over the email I sent you, about the interview?" he asked. Bruce sighed as he remembered. " About the job in Metropolis," he said.

Clark nodded. " Yeah, Perry White wants me and Lois to do it, should we say next week?" he asked. " At the party?" Bruce asked. " Sure, we'll talk the details," he said then Bruce walked out. He took the head and took it to another room where he had the necessary equipment to keep it secure. After he put it inside a protective shield he uploaded the algorithm he made back in the Batcave to make sure he couldn't escape again.

When he got back to the meeting room everyone was there. " Wow, dude the minute I leave the town someone attacks it," Barry said. " It wasn't related to you," Bruce answered. Hal chuckled at him while the other sighed.

" We need to figure out where we'll store the rest of his body," Superman said. " Yes, it can't be here in case he wakes up again," Diana said. " How about S.T.A.R. Labs?" Barry asked. Bruce shook his head. " No, it can easily be break-in in to,"

" I can take it back to Atlantis with me, you can put it in a box and I'll seal it away deep down," Arthur offered. " That could work, the threats of someone stealing the pieces from Atlantis are very low," Jonn said.

Hal nodded. " Great, it's agreed then, what else do we have to talk about? I'm kind of in a hurry," he said. " We'll finish when he finish," Bruce replied then went on to tell about the things he has found.

" Where are we on Mandragora? Has anyone been able to find him?" Clark asked. " We were just talking about it today, no, he's completely gone off the radar man. I've been looking for him for weeks, it's like he has gone off the face of the Earth," Barry said. " It's not a coincidence," Bruce mumbled.

The rest of the members turned to him. " What do you mean?" Jonn asked. " While we were busy with Metallo today six kidnappings took place in Gotham, Metropolis and Washington. The cities where Clark, Diana and I live," Bruce said.

Clark furrowed his brows. " Do you mean someone purposely let Metallo loose? Knowing we would show up," he asked. " I don't know, could be, one of the scientists that worked there died but I can question the other guy. All I'm saying is it's very interesting six ordinary people were kidnapped simultaneously while we were focused elsewhere,"

" Maybe they're not even related to this thing Bats, maybe you're reading too much into it," Hal said. Bruce glared at him. He grabbed a tablet and projected six files toward the table. " Then why do all of them are listed to have been positive for having a meta-gene?" he spat.

Hal gulped as he eyed the files. " How do you know that they have tested positive?" he asked. " Lex Luthor makes everyone who is working for him take the test when they're starting out, secretly. I hacked into his system," Batman answered.

" Bruce, are you saying someone orchestrated this as a distraction to keep us out of the loop?" Diana asked. He nodded then projected other files of other people. " I was curious so I dug a little more. These are eighteen other people who have been reported as missing or were kidnapped in the last month. If you check the dates, they all correlate with a time when we were busy, and they were all current or former employes at LexCorp or somewhere owned by it,"

" Damn, that's when Captain Boomerang struck," Barry said. " And the Toyman in Metropolis," Clark mumbled. Bruce nodded. " Do you think I'm reading too much into it now Lantern?" Bruce spat. Hal sighed as he sat up straight in his chair.

" We need to find these people," Clark said. " We can't," Bruce said. " And we shouldn't," he added. Diana furrowed her brows as she sat up, hit the table with her hands. " What do you mean we can't and shouldn't?" she loudly exclaimed.

Bruce turned to her. " We firstly need to find out who is behind all of this, everything that has happened in the last month or so are connected. But we have the upper hand now, they probably don't know we realized what is going on, if we start investigating right after this they'll stop, making us harder to find out what's exactly happening," he explained.

" What do you mean it's all connected?" Arthur asked. " Increasing number of attacks, criminals escaping from where they shouldn't be able to, Mandragora being tipped off, they must all be working together, some way," Bruce explained again.

Clark crossed his arms. " So, what do we do now then? Wait around and do nothing, let people be kidnapped?" he asked angrily. " All of you continue your lives the way you did, I'll try to find their trails. It's impossible to know who'll they kidnap next but if I anticipate who it is then Jonn can take that person's place, being our insider,"

" That seems like it can take a while," Barry mumbled. Bruce turned to him, glaring. " Come up with a better plan then!" he spat. " You said it yourself, even you couldn't find him what makes you think you can now? Five minutes ago you weren't even aware of the kidnappings,"

After that Bruce took a deep breath, calming himself and sitting down. " We're at an advantage now but we need to keep it that way. We can't punch through our way in this one, we need to be smart. We need to figure out why they're doing this, what they are aiming at. I'll notify you if I find something,"

Barry leaned over the table. " Bats, if you won't get mad, I want to ask something," he said. " You told me Miss Jones was working for Mandragora, maybe she knows something? Something she heard or seen," Barry mumbled.

Bruce shook his head. " No," he replied. " But-" Barry said but Bruce caught him off. " You have a point, I'm sure she doesn't know anything but maybe Hawkins knows something," he said turning to Superman. Clark huffed, " I'll get right on it," he muttered.

The time was 10 PM when Bruce got back home. " Alfred, I need you to get some surveillance footage from Metropolis, Washington and Central City while I go over the ones in Gotham," he said sitting on his computer.

" Do you mean the footages of the kidnappings, sir?" he asked. " Yes," Bruce replied. " Alright, would you like me to ask Master Grayson's assist?" he followed up. " Has he finished his homework?"

Alfred sighed. " No," he admitted. " Tell him to finish it. Then he can go downtown," Bruce said. " You mean for patrolling?" Alfred asked. He didn't answer, focusing on his work. " Yes Master Wayne," Alfred said then left.

Bruce watched all the footage he could find for a few hours. In all of them, men dressed in black ski masks were kidnapping people in a van with a fake license plate. The men appeared right when the attack happened so no one realized anything.

He couldn't trace the van too because at some point all of the vans vanished, probably changing cars at a blind spot. It really was a perfect plan. Then an idea popped into Bruce's head. Maybe he couldn't find where they were taken but maybe he could find who would be kidnapped next.

If all of the victims had a common background maybe that'll help him. He quickly opened the files of all twenty people who had been kidnapped. They were all from different cities and so far had nothing in common.

Bruce sighed, the time was around 2.30 AM. He got up, he could look over the files tomorrow and properly inspect them. Now he had to go join Dick.


	9. Nine

A week had passed since Metallo's attack. After Bruce sent Skylar abruptly he had called her two days later. He told her that he was sorry they had to cut the lunch short and he had been busy. Skylar replied that it was okay, she had been occupied herself as well, and whether he was okay. 

They met up once for a quick coffee within that week. Bruce apologized again, saying he had a lot to do but he was going to make up for it, for finally accepting to watch the movies Skylar wanted him to watch. They decided on the next evening for it.

Skylar had made some popcorn as she waited for Bruce to come up. He showed up just as she was almost done making the popcorn. She opened the door. " Hey," she said as Bruce came in, half hugging her then walking in. "You get to the couch, the popcorn's almost done," she said.

Bruce nodded, taking off his jacket and sitting. " So what we are watching?" he asked. Skylar huffed. " Since you like cars and driving and stuff, I thought your introduction to pop culture would start best with the Fast and Furious," she said as she sat next to him, passing him a bowl of popcorn and ginger ale.

He looked at the beverage he handed him then at her. " What?" she bluntly asked before realizing why he was confused. " Oh, I remembered you mentioned you prefer to drink ginger ale instead of alcohol and stuff so I bought some for you," she said as she put on the movie. Bruce watched her for a moment with a surprised look on his face before turning to the screen, trying to focus on the movie.

" No, I hardly think that'd happen in real life," Bruce muttered. Skylar turned to him in disbelief. " Why not?" she asked. " It's impossible, the car was supposed to roll over at that speed with that maneuver," he explained.

She rolled her eyes. " Well, uhm, this is a movie," she mumbled. " Why is it called 'Fast and Furious'?" he asked. " Because they drive fast and he gets furious," she replied. " Great explanation," Bruce chuckled.

Skylar turned to him. " You ask a lot of questions during a movie," she pouted. Bruce smiled. " Sorry," he replied. " I'll turn off my logic," he added. She smiled at him. " Okay,"

After the movie ended Skylar turned to him. " So? What do you think?" she asked. Bruce shrugged. " They made six more movies?" he responded. " Seven actually," Skylar mumbled. Bruce looked at her in shock. " Wow," he whispered she broke out into laughter. " What? They're entertaining!"

They talked about the movie a bit more than about various other things. " There's something I wanted to ask you," Bruce suddenly said with a more serious tone. " I don't know if you know it but tomorrow's an event. It's Gotham's founding day. I have to go," he said.

" I promise if you invite me I won't stand you up this time," Skylar chuckled. Bruce faintly smiled. " Yes, but a friend of mine will join the event as well with his girlfriend. They're both reporters from Metropolis and they need to do an interview with me. Would that be a problem for you?" he asked.

Skylar shook her head. " No, I've only met one of your friends so far and he seemed nice enough," she replied. " Good, I'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow then?" he asked. She nodded, " I'll be ready," 

The next day Skylar attended two classes then rushed back home to start getting ready. She was excited to meet Bruce's friends. He was reluctant to talk about his private life and she didn't force him.

She picked out a dress, a long white one with long sleeves where it had a bit off a reveal on her back and chest. It seemed elegant enough to attend the kind of event Bruce mentioned.

About ten minutes were left when Bruce called her, asking whether she was ready. He was close to her house. Skylar quickly finished off what she was doing, slipped on her heels and went downstairs.

She waited for a few minutes until finally, Bruce's car arrived. The doorman of the building opened the door for her to get in. " Hey," she said while sitting down. " Hi, you look good," Bruce replied.

Skylar blushed as a smile appeared. " Thanks," she mumbled. " Have your friends arrived?" she asked. He nodded. " Yeah, they'll meet us at the event," he replied. " Okay," she said.

On the way, Bruce told her about the event, who would be there and what would happen. It was supposed to be a short one apparently. About two hours. At 7.30 PM, the mayor would give a speech about the city and the importance of the day than the rest would be spent with accepting donations.

When the car slowed down at the entrance Skylar gulped, seeing all of the paparazzi lined up. Bruce got out first then held out his hand for Skylar. She took it reluctantly and stepped out. The paparazzi immediately started calling Bruce's name, asking for him to pose, quote and answer questions.

" Is she your girlfriend, Mr.Wayne?" Someone shouted and Skylar turned to Bruce. " What's wrong?" he asked her softly. She shook her head. " Aren't you worried, that, uhm, they'll print the pictures of us together?"

" Would that make you uncomfortable?" he asked. She shrugged. " I just don't like having attention drawn to me," she mumbled. Bruce smiled. " No need to worry, I probably own the news outlet they work for," he smirked.

Skylar looked at him in shock then giggled. " Sure, should've guessed that," she said as they started to walk into a crowd. Bruce had Skylar on his arm, leading the way while he greeted people. " Ah, there they are," he mumbled.

The pair walked up to a couple. The man was tall and very muscular. The woman next to him had dark hair, and she looked very familiar. They were talking and laughing when Bruce and Skylar stopped next to them. " Hope your flight to Gotham went well," Bruce said.

The man smiled. " Could've been less bumpy but we made it," he replied. " By the way Bruce, thank you for arranging the hotel for us, you didn't have to," the woman spoke up. " No problem," he muttered.

The man and woman's attention was now on Skylar. " Skylar this is Clark Kent and Lois Lane from the Daily Planet. Guys, this is Skylar Jones," Bruce introduced. Skylar smiled as she shook both of their hands.

" Okay, now that we're all here, what's everyone drinking?" Clark asked to the group. No one spoke up. He smiled, " Great, I'll pick it then, Bruce?" he asked and the men walked away. Skylar was alone with Lois.

She smiled at her to turn down her awkwardness. " I've heard a bit about you from Clark, you used to live in Metropolis, right?" she asked. Skylar nodded. " Yes, I studied there before transferring here to GU," she said.

" By the way, I use to read Daily Planet a lot, I think I've read some of your pieces," Skylar said. " I really liked them," she added. Lois smiled. " Thanks, I love my job, it's exciting, " she replied. Then Bruce and Clark came back with the drinks and Skylar took a deep breath.

For some reason, she was very excited to meet them. Bruce's friends. Normally she wouldn't be like this, she was very relaxed and natural when it came to meeting new people but now, she wanted them to like her and not embarrass Bruce.

The four of them were having small talk, Skylar chiming in occasionally, when a familiar man walked upon the stage. She knew his face from the news, he was the mayor. " Good evening everyone, I would like to start by thanking everyone who came out today. As you know, today is a very important day for our city,"

The mayor talked for roughly five minutes. As he was coming down and people were clapping someone approached the four. " I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr.Wayne if I could have a word with you real quick?" the man asked. Bruce nodded and started walking with him.

" By the way, I hope you don't get this the wrong way but we were very excited to meet you, Bruce doesn't mention you much," Clark said. Skylar bit her lip. " Let me guess since he isn't the most talkative person on earth?" she asked. Clark looked at her surprised. " His friend Barry said the same thing to me," she replied.

Then she took a breath. " I'm sorry if I'm acting a bit awkward. I'm not usually this nervous, guess this isn't my usual scene," she quickly said. Lois smiled. " That's okay honey, we're having fun," she replied.

" What did you study in MU?" Clark asked, trying to open up a subject that she'd find comfortable. Skylar answered and they started to chat for a few minutes before Bruce finally made it back. " Sorry," he said as he gently put his hand to Skylar's back, " Got caught up by some people,"

For the next forty-five minutes, the group chatted with some people sometimes interrupting and talking to Bruce. After some time Skylar stopped being so nervous, she had overthought it in her mind and started to really get involved in the talk.

She was telling a story when she realized the faint smile Bruce's face turn into a pout as his gaze shifted away. Then his phone rang. " Where?" he answered the call. " I'll be there," he said then put his phone back to his pocket.

" I'm sorry, something came up, I need to go for a little while," he said, looking at Clark. Clark faintly nodded turning to Lois and whispering something to her. Bruce looked at Skylar. " Would you be fine staying with Lois for a while?" he asked her. She nodded. " Yes, has something bad happened?"

Bruce shook his head. " No, something came up in the company, I'll go check it out," he answered. " I need to go for a little while too, I hope that's okay," Clark chimed in. Skylar didn't answer but nodded. The two men quickly started walking and soon went out.

It was when Skylar turned to Lois that she realized the bat signal outside. " I don't think our presence here is needed," Lois said, grabbing her attention. " I mean, we're guests right," she added. Skylar nodded. " What should we do?" she asked.

Lois smirked. " Do you know a good place where we could drink?" 

Two hours later Skylar and Lois were together, drunk in a pub. " Your voice gets way higher when you're drunk," Lois said loudly. Skylar rolled her eyes. " You slur your words and you're way too loud!" she said, also slurring her words.

Lois furrowed her brows as she gasped. " I do not! I have perfect dictation," she replied. " Sure," Skylar giggled as she took another step. The women had connected so much in the last hours. They were already friends, even might be on their way to becoming close friends.

" You know, I never thought I had this much fun tonight," Skylar admitted, playing with the stick in her glass. " Me too, you looked so nervous when you first walked in, girl!" Lois exclaimed. Skylar laughed, even sticking out her tongue. " It's just, I haven't had a girl time in a really long time and I missed it," she confessed.

Lois looked at her with a genuine smile. " Oh, Skylar, I'm always here," she said then pulled her in for a hug. The girls hugged for a while before breaking apart. Lois leaned on her arm while she was half laying on the counter. " Okay, this might probably be the alcohol asking, but, what's going on between you two?"

Skylar looked at her new friend surprised.

" What do you mean?" she asked back. It was Lois's time to roll her eyes. " Sweety, I'm one of the best reporters in the Daily Planet for nothing, I've seen the way you two interact, plus I know a few things about flirting," Lois explained with a smirk toward the end.

Skylar was looking at her dumbfounded. " Oh, cmon! You know what I mean!" Lois exclaimed. " I swear it'll be off the record," Lois added, as a joke to make her ease into answering. Skylar sighed. " We're just friends, really," she replied.

Lois gave her a look that said 'Are you kidding me or are you playing dumb girl?'. " No, did Bruce say something?" Skylar asked. " He doesn't! That's why I'm asking you," Lois answered.

Skylar took a deep breath. " We're just really good friends," she mumbled. Then she spotted Bruce and Clark walking into the pub. " How did they find us?" she asked. Lois turned around to look, almost falling out of her chair. " Clark! We're over here!" she shouted.

Clark rushed and held her from falling. " I texted him earlier," Lois said while laughing. " You've caught me again!" she giggled at her boyfriend. Clark gave a faint smile. " I think you've had enough drink, Lois,"

" I think we should call it a night, okay Skylar?" Lois asked her. Skylar nodded in response and Clark took Lois into his arms then grabbed her purse. " Goodnight," he mumbled before walking. Bruce was looking at Skylar. " Can you walk?" he asked her softly.

Skylar nodded again. " I think so, let me pay first," she said taking out her wallet from her purse. Bruce sighed as he waited for her to pay. Then she slowly got up. The first few seconds were good but then she lost her balance.

Bruce grabbed her and held her. " Thank you," Skylar managed to mumble. His hands were around her waist and suddenly she felt very hot. They slowly walked to the elevator and then outside. The driver opened the door and Bruce helped her get inside.

" I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Skylar mumbled once they were in the car. Bruce turned to her, furrowing his brows. " What?" he asked. " I was feeling nervous, I didn't want to do anything to make you look bad, I'm sorry if I did,"

Bruce gently caressed Skylar's cheek. " Of course not, why would you think that?" he asked. She shrugged. " I don't know, we were with your friends, and everyone keeps telling me you don't like to talk about me, and I just got insecure I guess," she tried to explain.

Skylar slowly looked up to Bruce's eyes. " I thought you didn't talk about me because you were embarrassed by me," she whispered. He tilted his head. " Is that why you were worried about the paparazzi?"

She nodded in defeat. Bruce sighed. " Skylar, I don't talk about you to my friends because I respect your privacy. My friends, well, they sometimes can overstep their boundaries and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. But no, I'm not embarrassed by you, I like you," he said.

She smiled. " I like you too, Bruce," she whispered. An uneasy feeling had emerged in Skylar's stomach as she said those words, her heartbeat getting faster. She unintentionally eased into his hand, which was still on his cheek.

" Bruce," she whispered, leaning forward a bit. " Yeah?" he answered looking at her eyes intimately. " I'm feeling very sleepy," Skylar mumbled as her head fell to Bruce's shoulder. He faintly chuckled. " Let's get you home then,"

Skylar was half awake when she felt the car coming to a stop. She then felt Bruce grabbing her body and walking. " Mr.Wayne, good evening sir," a man said. She didn't hear a response as she felt her and Bruce's body being levitated, they were probably in the elevator.

Two minutes later Bruce had put her body to the bed. " Can you help me get it off?" Skylar muttered, sitting up and pointing at her dress. She didn't see or hear his response but felt his hands at the tip of her dress, pulling it up. Once she was rid of the dress Skylar crawled into her bed. Bruce covered her. " Goodnight Skylar," he said.


	10. Ten

The next morning Skylar woke up with a killer headache. " Oh, god," she mumbled to herself as she made her way into the bathroom. " Note to self, never mix that much again,"

In about thirty minutes she was feeling more like herself. She had taken a painkiller and was now standing in her kitchen with her hair in a bun and in her robes making coffee. That's when her when alerted her. She took out her phone to check it out only when she saw the time.

It was nearing at 3 PM. "Wow," she said, she had slept for a while. She had to admit, ever since he moved to Gotham she was more relieved, more relaxed. She wasn't as stressed as she was back in Metropolis. And it was mainly because of Bruce. She smiled with the thought of that.

Ten minutes later Skylar was sitting in front of her TV, a cup of coffee and her phone on each of her hands. There was nothing good on so she decided on leaving it on a gossip program. She was skipping through social media when she heard something from the TV.

" As you know the event for Gotham's Founding day was held yesterday evening lead by the mayor. What's intriguing is Bruce Wayne was seen with a woman. Sources say the pair have been spotted before together, and Mr.Wayne not hosting his famous parties as much as before is raising questions,"

Skylar watched the screen with her jaw dropped. Just as the woman was talking a picture of her and Bruce from last night was seen on the screen. She was looking away and if she didn't know for a fact she was present yesterday she couldn't tell that it was her.

" I know Joy, but I think the question we all wonder is the same, is this mysterious woman the one? The one to tame the Bruce Wayne?" The other woman on the talk show said with a smirk. Skylar felt blood rushing to her cheeks.

This was not happening. She felt a pressure on her, what if Bruce watched it too? What if he was repelled by it? If he felt pressured into feeling something he wasn't feeling.

With a gulp, she grabbed her phone, calling Bruce. Her heartbeat fastened as it beeped. He picked it up after two, " Good morning sunshine," he said playfully. Skylar bit her lip. " What?" she exclaimed into the phone.

" Isn't that one of the pop references you're trying to teach me?" he asked. She took a deep breath. " Oh, oh, yeah, it is," she mumbled. " Is something wrong?" Bruce asked, his tone getting serious instantly. She sighed. " I'm guessing your TV isn't on right now," she said. " No, should it be?"

" I was just watching a show called 'Gotham Gossip'," Skylar admitted. " Oh, no, what did they say?" Bruce asked with a tired tone. " That I was your girlfriend," she said quietly. " Okay, I'll take care of it, how are you by the way?" he asked.

Skylar furrowed her brows. " What do you mean? she asked back. " You seemed like you'd have an awesome hangover judging by last night," he answered, his playful sound is back. She huffed. " Oh, yeah, uhm, I took a pill,"

" Bruce, thank you, for last night, getting me home and, uhm, everything," Skylar mumbled. " It was my pleasure, it was the least I could do after leaving you alone," he replied. She bit the insides of her cheeks, trying not to smile.

" Clark called me earlier, apparently Lois had so much fun with you. They are coming over in a bit for the interview and are wondering if we'd be available to have dinner with them tonight, the four of us. They also have an early flight tomorrow to Metropolis,"

Skylar listened quietly. She liked Lois too, she was feisty and energized. Such a positive person to be around. " I would love to! When?" she exclaimed. " Let's say 8.30?" 

For the rest of the day, Skylar mostly relaxed, trying to get her head straight. Her body was still a bit tired from the night before. She also quickly cleaned up the little mess she made last night.

She picked her dress from the counter and as she remembered how she took it off, mostly asking Bruce to do it, she couldn't help but blush. She had no energy whatsoever to do it last night and she didn't think clearly, that's why she asked him that. But he didn't seem much troubled by that.

Then she took a cold shower to fully wake up. After that, she started to look at her wardrobe to find something to wear. Frankly, she didn't own many dresses and she was running out of them. Then she spotted the box at the bottom of her wardrobe.

The dress Bruce sent her when he asked her to the Elliot event. She kneeled down and took it out, admiring the dress once again. It was really beautiful. It fit her taste perfectly. Not too out there but also not blunt. Not very overdone but also not simple.

She smiled to herself as she decided her pick. She couldn't wait to surprise him with it.

When Skylar walked into the restaurant she found Clark and Lois waiting at the reception. " Hey," she greeted. Lois welcomed her with a warm hug whereas Clark gave a simple yet friendly smile.

" Bruce told me he was running a bit late, should we just sit?" Clark asked. Skylar nodded and the receptionist showed them to their table. When the waiter asked them would they like wine Lois snorted. " I think alcohol is not a good idea for tonight," she mumbled. Skylar nodded along with a smile, agreeing.

They ordered drinks and a starter while waiting for Bruce. " How did the interview go?" Skylar asked to create conversation. Lois shrugged. " It went well I guess," she said. " Yeah, since the company Bruce had a deal with it is under investigation we couldn't ask for much. I think you're familiar with it, so it was mainly talk about whether he still thought on expanding to Metropolis, his work et cetera," Clark explained.

" Cool, do you get to interview people like Bruce often?" Skylar asked. " Like who?" Lois asked as a response. She shrugged. " I don't know, you guys are from Metropolis, what about Lex Luthor?"

Both of their faces got more serious with her question. " What about Lex Luthor?" Clark asked. " Isn't he a big shot? I got to intern at LexCorp for a month back in junior year," Skylar explained. " Well, we did a couple of times but we choose to mainly focus on other subjects. Our boss gave the interview because Bruce rarely accepts to do them and he only does it with people he knows," Lois explained.

Before any of them could continue Bruce showed up. " Sorry, I got laid back at the company," he said. " It's okay, we were making small talk. Is everything alright?" Skylar asked him with a smile. Bruce nodded. That's when she realized something red on Bruce's face.

She grabbed a napkin and cleaned it. " Why do you have blood on your face?" she asked. Bruce took a moment to answer. " It's probably a shaving accident, happens sometimes," he mumbled then turned to the table. " Should we order now?"

Skylar couldn't help but chuckle. " That's amazing but I'm more interested in how you guys met," she said. Bruce and Clark shared a look. " It's a funny story," Bruce mumbled. " Our boss was after Bruce for an interview, after months of work he finally got this one to accept," Clark started.

" So he showed up at the office. Lois and I were working on a piece together, right, when this guy walks up to us," he continues but Lois cuts him off. " Back then we were just flirting, I was mainly the one initiating cause this guy was a bit shy," she says with a smile.

Clark chuckled nervously. " Yeah, and Bruce comes over to us, recognizing her. Complementing her and her work. Feeling jealous I say something smart and we kind of hit it off at the wrong foot, it all got better eventually,"

Lois smirked. " What were the exact things you said to Clark?" she asked Bruce. He smiled. " Is this one of the ones I own? Doesn't matter, I could probably get you fired either way," he quoted himself. With that Skylar burst into laughter. " I can't believe you said that!"

For the next two hours, the four of them kept talking. The conversation came easy, there never being a dull moment. Although it did have some awkwardness at some points. Like when Skylar realized Bruce had flirted with Lois when they met and how Clark accidentally revealed Bruce had an adopted son.

Around 10.30 both pairs stood outside of the restaurant saying goodbye. " It was so nice to meet you! Call me anytime," Lois said as she tightly hugged Skylar. " I will, promise, have a safe flight back,"

When she was finally alone with Bruce, Skylar felt uneasy. " What are you thinking of now?" Bruce asked her. She bit her lip nervously. " You've gotten so good at reading me, it's not fair," she mumbled.

" You've never mentioned you had a son," she said. She didn't know why she was feeling sad that he didn't tell her. He didn't have to tell her anything but she felt like they had a good connection and a friendship where they could share these kinds of things.

Bruce tilted his head. " I don't know, probably because I wasn't sure of how you would feel," he answered. She furrowed her brows. " What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged. "I didn't want it to weird you out,"

Skylar rolled her eyes. " Why would it be?" she replied and Bruce shrugged again as a response. " Can you tell me a bit about him?" she asked. A faint smile appeared on his face. "His name is Dick, he's in high school. I found him when his parents died while he was eight. I didn't want him to grow up alone, like I was, so I decided to look after him,"

As he spoke Skylar remembered the article she read on the forum way back when she first got to Gotham. Talking about his parents and his earlier life. " I'm sorry," she muttered. Bruce shook his head. " Don't be, he's better now, at least he says he is,"

Skylar bit her lip. " I didn't mean that, I meant you, what you said," she slowly said. " Oh," Bruce mumbled as he understood where she was going with this. " I guess we finally hit that stone in our friendship where we talk about past traumas," he said.

She looked at her in confusion. " You are joking?" she asked. Bruce half smirked. " I know myself, I'm a rich kid with issues, lots of issues, and I'm dealing with it," he replied. Skylar watched him, unable to answer. How could she respond to that?

Bruce sighed. " By the way," he sighed, trying to change the subject. " The dress looks amazing on you," he said. Skylar smiled at him, a real big one covering her face. " Thanks, I really like it," she replied. Bruce looked at her with a faint smile. He seemed like he wanted to say something but before he could say something a flash illuminated where they were standing. A couple of people holding cameras and holding microphones appeared.

" Mr.Wayne! Mr.Wayne!" They kept saying asking questions. Mainly about Skylar and whether she was the girlfriend. She was surprised by the whole thing, standing there frozen, not knowing what to do. Bruce took action fast. He grabbed Skylar's hand pulling her toward him and walking away from the paparazzi.

He called for a cab that was on stand a little behind them and quickly got himself and her into it. " Sorry," he mumbled after telling the driver where to go. " It's okay, I guess," she mumbled. " I don't really mind it, I think about you and how it might affect you,"

" Nonsense, but it is proving to me that I really need to talk to the companies I own, the main I reason I bought them was for them to leave me alone," he replied, leaning back to his seat. Skylar took a deep breath. "Yeah, it must be hard, being in the limelight all the time,"

Bruce tilted his head. " Yeah, and I can't really say you get use to it by time," he said. " Maybe we should stay indoors for a bit," he added. Skylar nodded. She didn't really care whether they were out or at home as long as they spent time together.

They sat in silence for the duration of the ride. Skylar didn't dare to open her mouth, it felt like they fell out of their sync in the last twenty minutes or so, it felt weird. The taxi stopped in front of her building.

" Goodnight," Bruce said. She looked at him curiously but didn't comment. " Goodnight Bruce, thanks for the night," she replied. He only smiled at her and she got out of the taxi. For some reason, she felt sad, like something had happened that she didn't realize.

She went into her house, got out of her dress and makeup, throwing on some pajamas and leaning on her couch. She wanted to clear her head so she laid there for a few hours, TV in the background and skipping through on her social media before eventually going to sleep.


	11. Eleven

The dinner Skylar had with Bruce, Clark, and Lois was on Sunday. It was now Thursday and she hadn't heard from Bruce since then. The last four days were rough on her.

First, on Monday, she watched the program Gotham Gossip much to her dismay and was once again surprised to see the picture of the two of them. It was taken right after Bruce complimented her on the dress and they were looking at each other deeply with a smile.

She spent a few moments looking at the photo, something twisting in her stomach. The photo made her happy and suddenly she started looking at it all differently. Bruce had come into her life a little over a month ago and had completely changed her life.

She felt really good with him, she felt comfortable. Ever since she had started university the people around her always used her, for notes, for grades, and for their entertainment. He was the first 'friend' she had in a really long time and Skylar was so happy to have found him.

After snapping out of the zone she was in, she took out her phone and texted him. It was an attempt at a joke about the story the paparazzi ran on the two of them. As she was waiting for the reply she got up and started getting ready for the class she had.

Bruce still hasn't texted her back by the time she was done with her day and classes. She tried not thinking too much about it, it was a Monday and he must've been busy. She went back home, ate some dinner by herself while showing the new episode of a TV show she was watching until she went to bed.

The next two days went by a blur. Skylar mainly focused on her school work. She spent her free time in the library, reading or studying. She tried communicating Bruce a few times. One call and a few other texts. He did not respond.

She tried not to feel saddened by it, he had a whole other life. He ran a massive company along with parenting a teenager. He was busy. Yeah, he was busy. That must've been it.

But maybe she could drop by his office, see he was alright. Maybe he had some free time they could grab a coffee or lunch. That seemed like a good idea, she had some free time the next day around noon.

She smiled to herself with the idea. He did mention before that he always tried not to put a meeting around 12 so that he could have lunch. He was very punctual when it came to these kinds of things.

So, on Wednesday after two and a half-hour lecture on Finance Strategies, she made her way on to Wayne Enterprises. There was a bus that went there from the school so it wouldn't be very hard to get there.

Skylar took a deep breath before entering. She did not want to go through the security guy again. Of course, he wasn't there and someone else stopped her. " Ma'am, if you don't work here or have any business, I can't let you through," he said.

She took a deep breath. " I've been here before, really, you can ask the security guard who stopped me last time," she said. " Who would that be?" the guard asked seriously. She looked around, not finding him. "He's not here right now, but maybe you can call Mr.Wayne's assistant, Claire, her name was Claire,"

The guard seemed surprised she knew her name. " One minute," he said, stepping away from her and talking on the walkie-talkie. A few minutes later Claire stepped off the elevator, coming toward them.

" Thanks for letting me know Drew," she smiled at the guard before turning back to Skylar. "Miss Jones, surprising to see you," she said. " Hi, uhm, I'm sorry to bother you, the guard wouldn't let me up," she explained.

Claire gave her a smile and Skylar couldn't tell whether it was fake or not genuine. " Why are you here?" she asked her. Skylar bit her lip. " I came to see Mr.Wayne," she admitted. Claire tilted her head before replying.

" He's not at the office," she said. Skylar furrowed her brows, "Where is he then?" she asked. claire sighed, looking away and smiling at someone before turning back to her. " Look, sweety, whatever you thought that happened between you and Mr.Wayne is over, if you can't reach him it because he wants it that way, forcing yourself is not going to change anything, so my advice? Move on," she spat.

Skylar stood there, as if someone had just poured boiling water to her. Unable to say anything. She felt pressure on her chest upon hearing those words. " Please don't come here again, have a good day," Claire said before walking away.

The security guard came back with a smirk. " I'm guessing Mr.Wayne wasn't expecting you, ma'am," he snickered. Skylar looked at him in defeat. She was embarrassed, by the interaction she had with Claire, the guard.

She walked, more like ran to escape, out of the building and kept walking. Her steps were fast, wanting to get away from there as soon as possible. As she went over what Claire had said to her tears formed on her eyes.

What did it mean? What did all of it mean?

Skylar found herself in the park. People were scattered around it, jogging, sitting, enjoying the sun. She found an empty bench away from everyone and let her frustrations out. Would it end like this way, he'd just ghost her all out of a sudden?

Then her phone vibrated. She quickly took out her phone in hope that it was from Bruce. Maybe he was going to explain it, he'd say he was busy and that he'd wrongly reference one of the things Skylar always made him watch and it'd all be fine.

It was Lois. She had replied to a meme Skylar had sent her earlier. She quickly called her, she was in a dire need of someone to talk to, someone who'd probably understand.

" Hey, girl! What's up?" Lois opened up the call energetically. "Hi, are you busy?" she asked. " Am not now, what's wrong?" she immediately asked. " I don't know, I'm probably reading too much into it, but I haven't been able to reach him since dinner,"

" Hm," Lois said. "I'm sure it's fine, he told us over the weekend he had a lot to do this week," she added. Skylar sighed. "I know but he hasn't replied to any of my texts or calls. I feel like it's my fault, maybe I've done something," she rambled.

Skylar could hear Lois taking a deep breath. " Honey, I'm sure it's nothing, believe me," she said. " Does he does this often?" Skylar asked. " No, but then again we don't talk that often, we're all focused on our own things mostly,"

" This just seems so out of his character Lois, I don't know, it makes me think of our friendship over again. Was I maybe something else than a friend?" Skylar huffed. "Skylar, no! Trust me when I say this, I'm his friend, I know him, uhm, to some extent. He'll reach out, I'm sure of it, okay?"

" Okay," Skylar mumbled. " Alright, lift your spirits up, it's a good day out there, and take care of yourself. I need to go now, my boss is on my ass on this article," she said. " Okay, thanks, bye," Skylar said and ended the call.

She sat on the bench for a little while, calming herself down. Lois was right, she was being childish. Bruce wouldn't do something like that, his assistant Claire probably thought she was someone else, not his friends. Friends wouldn't do that to each other.

She got up and took the bus home. On the way she stopped at the market, grabbing some ice cream and chips to eat later while she was planning on marathoning some movies. About forty minutes later she was at home.

A couple of hours passed as Skylar watched movies. She decided to give a little break from watching so she opened the news. " Breaking news! The notorious Joker and seven other criminals have been reported to escaped Arkham Asylum after the attack that happened twenty minutes ago. It is presumed that Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, The Riddler and Catwoman," the woman said.

" Oh, fuck!" Skylar exclaimed. That was bad, very, very bad. She knew the names of these villains from the news and even though she had never been in Gotham when they were she knew they weren't good news, and all of them were free now.

The reporters went on about the attack and the escapees for a while. Even telling some of the recent crimes of them. Skylar was watching it nervously as she learned new things about them.

" But, even though these criminals are on the free, it seems like our very own Bruce Wayne seems unaffected and unbothered by all of it, given how he was spotted with a blondie just ten minutes ago, leaving presumably one his parties,"

Skylar's heart crushed as she heard it. The screen then displayed a photo of Bruce and a blonde woman, walking to his car whilst smiling at the cameras. Why did he look so happy? And more importantly, that's what he had been doing all of this time? And why Skylar got angry seeing that picture?

She turned off the TV and walked out to her balcony. She crawled to the couch that was there and started watching the sky. She needed to think and doing it under the moon and the stars seemed like a good idea.

She didn't understand what was going on. She thought she and Bruce were good, that nothing was wrong. They were friends, he had gone to so many lengths to help her. Then why was he acting like that?

Did what happened recently got to him? The talk shows talking about him and her being a couple, the way his friends teased the two of them constantly, the paparazzi. Did he get frightened by it? Did it make him uncomfortable?

Because Skylar kept telling him that she didn't want her presence to affect him or his business at all. He was the one who kept saying that it was alright. He was the one who kept pushing it.

He was the one started it all. Who offered her the money, asked her to move to Gotham, he even got her to transfer to Gotham University. He was the one who kept showing up at her doorstep, asking her to dinners and stuff. He was the one who bought her a dress. He was the one who introduced her to his friends. He was the one who asked to be friends in the first place!

So why on goddamn earth that he was ghosting her right now, ignoring her texts and calls while he was out with some girl? Had he been with her the last few days while she tried to contact him? Or was she just the one she was with today?

As questions filled up Skylar's mind she felt full of anger and disappointment. Because she couldn't understand it, any of it. Bruce was a complicated man, that part she understood for sure and Skylar was feeling like she was finally figuring him out. But no, she didn't understand this, not one bit.

And what was that, what Claire said to her. She wasn't some girl Bruce had slept with for a while then decided to get rid of. She wasn't an object, she was a person and she was Bruce's friend. At least, she thought so. And Bruce couldn't act like this, not to her.

Around 1 AM a heavy rain had started and Skylar was boiling up in anger. She was about to do something very impulsive but her logic had flown out of the window a few moments ago. She quickly grabbed her wallet and her phone, threw on a jacket and boots and rushed downstairs.

She called for a taxi and quickly got in. The streets were empty, every sensible person was in their homes in fear of the escaped criminals but Skylar was stubborn. She was gonna get to the bottom of this. " To Wayne Manor please,"

The road to the Wayne Manor took a while, it was located a bit away from the city. Skylar eyed the house in awe as they got closer. This was the first time she was coming here and she didn't think it would happen like this, but hey, desperate times.

The taxi pulled up to the big gate. " Can't get through," the driver mumbled. " Can you wait for a bit? I'll pay," Skylar muttered. The man sighed and light a cigarette. She got out of the car and walked to the gate, specifically to the intercom device. She hit the button and then crossed her arms waiting for a response.

It had started to rain even more than when she left and she was getting wet. " Who is it?" Someone with a British accent asked through the device. " Hi, hello, I don't know if you know me but it is raining, my name is Skylar Jones and I,-"

Right after she said her name the gates opened up. With a smile, Skylar rushed back inside the car and they drove in toward the building. It was as big as a castle, not that she had seen one in a real-life but it felt like it.

The taxi stopped in front of the stairs and Skylar got up. As she was nearing the end of the stairs the big doors opened up and someone dressed in a butler's uniform came out. He seemed old. " Miss Jones, welcome," the man said.

" Do you know who I am?" she asked surprised. The man nodded. " Yes, Master Wayne has mentioned you a few times," he said and Skylar looked at him. " Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Alfred Pennyworth, I'm the butler of the Wayne family," he said.

So he really did have a butler as if he was some kind of prince or king and lived in this castle-like house?

" I'm sorry to show up like this, especially at this hour, but I haven't been able to reach Mr.Wayne for some time and I was worried. Is he here?" she asked. Alfred took a moment to answer. He eyed Skylar curiously before taking a deep breath. " I'm afraid Master Wayne isn't home, would you like me to pass along a message?"

Skylar furrowed her brows. He wasn't home? He was out with that woman from the picture? Or was he home and asked Alfred to lie? Was he not even going to show his face?

" No need, sorry to bother you," Skylar spat and turned around, heading to the taxi. " Good evening Miss Jones," Alfred called after her. He watched silently as she got in the taxi and it left the driveway.

Heartbroken. That was what Skylar was feeling. Defeat. Disappointment. If Bruce things wanted it to be like this, it was going to be like this. She couldn't bear to lose one more person from her life. So she took a deep breath as a single tear finally rolled down her cheek, accepting it all.

She was done.


	12. Twelve

Right after the dinner, Bruce was notified by Alfred that he had found something regarding the kidnapped people. So after getting Skylar home, he went back to his house to look it up.

Apparently all the people kidnapped either now or at some point in their life worked at LexCorp or a corporation connected to it. That was bad, he had found the connection between the victims but basing it on this there was no possible way he could anticipate who'd get kidnapped next.

The safest thing would be to increase surveillance on where LexCorp companies were and someone be a scout while an attack happened nearby.

Sighing Bruce got up and put on his costume. He had to notify the rest of the Leauge. Maybe they could finally involve the Green Arrow, Queen Industries could sure help against everything that's been going on. They had worked with Arrow a couple of times and he proved himself to be a good ally. Plus, Barry was on Bruce's ass on letting the Arrow in.

He decided to do all of it the next day, right now he had to go patrolling. Because of the dinner, he had Robin go out before he did. Bruce quickly put on his costume and joined him. 

The next two days were busy for Bruce. He had gotten slightly hurt the night before and he had to rest for a while. Resisting Alfred's warnings he got up and went to talk with that scientist on what he knew.

It was hard to find that scientist at first, apparently, he had quit right after the accident. Bruce found him in the king suite of a hotel partying with a woman. Ten minutes upon finding him, he had learned that he got paid to specifically wake up Metallo.

Someone in a black ski mask contacted him and gave him the money after he was done. Based on the description, they were the same man who had done the kidnappings. Bruce had taken the suitcase they gave the scientist the money to further investigate it.

He brought it back to the Batcave to look for fingertips or anything else that might be a lead. While he was waiting on the results he started to look over the files of LexCorp employes, the ones he could find anyway, to maybe predict something.

Alfred had come in with tea and some biscuits after a while. " Any way I could be of help, sir?" he asked. " Let me know if something comes out of the system," Bruce replied while strolling his chair to his side computer to get the results on the suitcase.

Unfortunately, there were no fingertips but he did find some remains of fuel. The type of fuel that was used on rockets and many devices, much like the ones LexCorp owned or subsidiaries.

Bruce got up from his chair and quickly sent a message to the Leauge to meet in the Watchtower in ten minutes. After that, he went there and called Barry, asking him to bring the Arrow with him. Barry was happy to hear it and he said he'd get right on it. Star City was close to Central City so the Flash and the Green Arrow worked together for many things.

Ten minutes later everyone was there. " What's going on? Why did you call the emergency meeting? I was about to fly our latest plane," Hal asked. " Yeah, and I was winning the race with Supes over here," Barry said, mumbling at the end.

Diana sighed. " I'm literally working with children," she said. " So, is this what your Leauge of Justice meetings go like," Green Arrow spoke up. " It's Justice Leauge, and no, it is not," Jonn replied.

" I found some things, regarding the kidnappings. I also interrogated the scientist. I think what we're up against is far worse than we anticipated," Batman spoke up. " Man in black-ski masks, like the kidnappers approached him and offered him money. I inspected the suitcase and found the remains of fuel on the side of it. The kind used by LexCorp, more importantly, all the victims have been or still are employes of LexCorp,"

" So Lex is behind all of this mess?" Superman asked. " I don't know, he could be. Either way, he's a part of it," Batman replied. Superman furrowed his brows, as if he figured something out. " Where do I come in?" Green Arrow asked, leaning on his chair.

Batman turned to him. " I'm sure Queen Industries' resources can help with our search," he said. Arrow furrowed his brows. " Wait, wha, how?" He mumbled. " You are heavily in the weaponry business Oliver, you can search the market to find out things about the kidnappings, the kind of weapons they have, who purchased them, " Bruce said.

" How long have you known I was the Green Arrow?" Oliver asked, taking off his hood and mask. Barry patted Oliver's shoulder as he smiled. " Don't question, he knows," he shrugged. " Fine," Oliver sighed, " I'll do the best I can,"

After that Batman turned to Superman. " Have you questioned Roy Hawkins?" he asked. Clark nodded. " Yeah, he didn't give me much though. He didn't even know Mandragora was tipped off so I think he's out of the loop," he said.

" What else did he say?" Bruce asked. Superman shrugged. " He taunted me, saying everything was connected and there were things we didn't know," he said. " Duh, obviously we have some missing pieces, or we'd kicked their asses a long time ago," Hal said.

Batman nodded. " We need to dig deeper, we also need to be on the lookout on the attacks. We might all need to be working in pairs for a little while," he said. Diana nodded. " That seems like a good idea," she said.

" Everyone, keep a close eye on Luthor, he might give us the clue we need after all," Batman said and everyone nodded. " Anything else?" Arthur asked. No one spoke up so Arthur, Hal, and Diana got up.

Clark walked to Bruce. " Actually, Bruce, there was something I wanted to talk to you about," he said. " What? Perry didn't like the interview?" he taunted. " No, it was actually about Skylar," he said and Bruce looked up to him, getting up.

" What about her?" he asked. Clark gazed away for a moment then gulped before answering. " Uhm, she called Lois before I came to the meeting," he said. " About?" Bruce asked. " You might want to check your phone, that's not how relationships works,"

Bruce glared at Clark. " She's not my girlfriend, and I'm busy," he replied, looking away from his friend. " Yeah, sure," Clark huffed, " All I'm saying is it takes a minute max to text back, don't Bruce yourself up and miss something good for you,"

He didn't answer and Clark patted his shoulder before leaving. Bruce sighed after he left. He took out his phone to text Skylar back when it alerted him that there had been an attack on Arkham. " Shit!" he said, turning around.

" What?" Barry asked. He was standing with Oliver, Clark, and Jonn. " Someone attacked Arkham," Bruce replied, passing by them and walking to the teleporter. " Do you need help?" Superman asked. " No,"

Upon teleporting back Bruce immediately went to Arkham. He was sure it was planned and a voice inside his mind told him it was related to everything that has been going on. When he got there, there was a big hole on the side of the building. It had also started to rain. As he was nearing the whole he spotted people trying to escape. This was going to be challenging. 

Four days had passed since the attack on Arkham. Bruce, along with Dick, had been searching non-stop for the Joker. They managed to find everyone else, it was hard and they spent three whole days but they eventually did.

What worried Bruce was the Joker. He was a twisted man, truly, and if he was connected to this whole thing it might've been sicker than he initially thought. So Batman needed to find him and find out Joker knew as soon as possible.

" Master Wayne, you might want to give a visit to downtown," Alfred spoke through the com. Bruce was driving around the city, trying to find a trail. " What is it?" he asked. " It's better you see it for yourself," Alfred said.

Bruce turned the wheel, driving to the place where Alfred had sent a location to. When he got there he found a few bodies being placed in the shape of a bat. There was blood in the middle of the figure. He checked for pulses but everyone was dead.

This was Joker's doing. Only he was this sick and twisted to do such a thing. Then Bruce realized one of the girls in the figure was holding something. A piece of paper. He took it and opened up to read it.

" I'm coming for you, it's going to be a blast!"

Bruce threw away the paper angrily. He needed to find him quickly. Before he hurt more people. He had checked the old places where Joker use to stay or operate in, all of them were empty. He got in his car to go talk to Harley. Surely, she knew something.

" Harley, I know you know where he is, tell me and I might not let you spend the rest of your life in here," Batman threatened. " Oh, Batsy! I won't spend my life here, my puddin' will save me!" Harley shot back.

Bruce crossed her arms. " Where is he then? I captured you two days ago, that's plenty of time to break someone out," he said. Harley furrowed her brows. " He will! He's just busy!" she argued. " Busy with what?"

Harley snickered. " Like I would ever tell you Bats!" she said. Batman shrugged. " I guess I should go see your friend Ivy next, I'm sure she'd like to be prisoned with some toxins that are bad for her,"

Harley got up. " Leave her alone you pig!" Harley screamed. " If I've got nothing better to do, why not?" Bruce said back, taunting her. Harley took a deep breath as she gritted her teeth. She was thinking, weighing her options.

" He was supposed to be at this hide-out, waiting. Downtown," she murmured. Bruce smirked and left. He went back home and started to look at places where Joker could be using as his hideout.

Alfred entered the room. " Master Wayne, you haven't slept for two days, you should rest a bit," he said. Bruce shook his head. " I can't, not with him out there," he replied. " I was going to wait to tell you this, but four nights ago Miss Jones came by,"

Bruce furrowed his brows but not looked away from the screen. " She said she couldn't reach you," Alfred continued. Bruce opened up a more detailed map. " I must say, she looks like a remarkable young lady,"

Bruce sighed as he turned to Alfred. " What's your point?" he asked. Alfred walked to Bruce, leaned on the console and looked at his eyes. " I've known you since you were a little kid, I've seen you grow up. I know you. And I've seen the change in you since she walked into your life. You look, well, happier. I understand it's hard for you, to let someone in, but not everyone's going to let you down," he said.

" Alfred, you don't understand," Bruce said. " I thought I could do it, be Batman and be with her at the same time, I can't," he said. " Why is that?" Alfred asked. " What happened today, it is just one example. I have many enemies, and if they were to know I had someone special, you know they would go beyond their ways to hurt her, five people died today just because Joker could deliver me a message,"

Alfred pouted. " Does Miss Jones knows about your other work?" he asked. Bruce shook his head. " Than how is she in danger? No one knows about Batman, only the people you trust. I think you are just making excuses, sir, because you are afraid," he said.

None of them said anything after and Alfred left, leaving him to think. Bruce sighed as he turned back to the screen, thinking over what Alfred said and his feelings.

Skylar was truly remarkable. And Bruce was happy that she was in his life.

It took Bruce three days to find out Joker's hide-out. He chose an abandoned factory because of a bankrupt. It was a food company too, where Bruce wouldn't immediately think of. He went there with Robin.

When they got there Joker was sitting with some of his men. Bruce looked at Dick. He gestured the man to him. While he'd deal with Joker he could take care of his men. Dick nodded, walking away to the corner.

Bruce threw a small bomb. They were standing on the second floor of the factory. After the blast, he jumped to where Joker was. " Batsy! I was wondering what took you so long!" Joker laughed. Bruce took a step forward punching him.

Joker chuckled at the hit and threw a punch of his own to Batman's abdomen. Bruce took a step back with the hit but kneeled down to kick him. " You're done," Bruce gritted through his teeth. " Oh, far from it!" Joker said, giggling and throwing something at him.

It was a flower but once it got close to Bruce it went off. He jumped backward, trying to avoid an attack. Then, one of Joker's men ran to him, ready to attack. Bruce fought with the man for a little while before knocking him out and looking around for Joker.

He found him standing on the stairs. " Let's play a game. Try to catch me, the winner gets to tell a joke," he said, running up. Bruce took out the Grappling Gun and shot it up to cut Joker's way. Upon jumping there Joker chuckled and jumped down from the stairs.

" Okay, I know we were going to wait until the game ended but I just thought of a very funny joke. What do you get out of six lifeless bodies?" he asked. Bruce didn't answer as he looked around to find a way to cut his way once again.

He spotted the other pair of stairs, connecting to an exit, and he thought that's where Joker was probably running off to. He jumped down running there. " No answer? Cmon, think harder!" Joker taunted.

Bruce gritted his teeth as he sped up. " Okay, okay, I'll tell. You get to make a life-size bat figure!" he said as he climbed the stairs to the exit. Batman jumped in front of him at the last second.

" Oh, you didn't find it funny?" Joker smirked. Batman threw a powerful punch to him. Joker took a step back with the hit. " I thought it was hilarious!" he said instead. Bruce didn't answer as he kept punching him. " You're done," he finally said, throwing one last punch to knock him out.

Once he was done, he looked around. " How are you doing?" he asked to the intercom. " Great, these douchebags now knows not to mess with Robin!" 

After bringing Joker and his men to the Arkham, and making sure he's locked up Batman and Robin went back home. Upon getting there Bruce realized how exhausted he truly was. It was almost the morning, the sun would set in about thirty minutes.

He sat on his bed, grabbing his phone. He opened up the text messages, particularly the ones Skylar sent her. He read them a few times, thinking about the events of last week. What Clark and Alfred had said to him. Joker's taunt.

He sighed, leaving the phone on the nightstand and going to sleep.


	13. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a recommendation :) Open the song All I Want by Kodaline at the mention of 'balcony'

A week had passed since Skylar went to Wayne Mayor. She didn't leave her house for the next seven days because of two things. One, there were vicious criminals on the loose, and with her luck, she'd probably run into them. Her parents had called her, learning what happened and asked her to stay home.

Two, she was embarrassed about going out. The last time she did Bruce's assistant called her off and his butler pretty much confirmed he was ghosting her. So while Skylar was home she spent her time cringing, getting sad, angry and blaming herself.

At the times when she wasn't crying or throwing a fit, she watched movies and TV shows to keep her distracted. She was watching a re-run when her phone vibrated, alerting a call. Skylar huffed as she reached out to grab it. It was probably her parents or Lois checking in on her.

Imagine Skylar's surprise when it was from Bruce.

She sat up on the couch, mentally debating whether to open it up or not. Also how to talk, angry or sad or nothing happened. But something happened.

" Hello?" she picked it up. She decided to go along with the conversation. " Skylar, hi, how have you been?" he asked. She rolled her eyes. She hadn't heard from him in almost two weeks and his opening line was this?

" Fine, I've been cupped at home since the attack on Arkham," she replied. " Oh, good," Bruce replied. " They got Joker last night, by the way, danger's gone," he said. Skylar bit her lip. " Oh, good to know," she muttered.

Both of them didn't say anything for a while. " Sorry, I've been a little busy this last week," Bruce eventually said. " Oh, I've realized," Skylar shot. " I had to deal with something," Bruce explained and Skylar huffed.

" Sure, hope you took care of it, friend," she gritted. " Skylar," Bruce started but she cut him off. " No, friends talk to each other, they don't automatically ghost them after an accident, but you had to deal with something, so I get it," she rambled.

" I wasn't ghosting you," Bruce said calmly. " Oh, yeah, the speech your assistant totally gave me improvisation vibes, not having been said a hundred times," Skylar exclaimed. " My assistant? What?" Bruce asked confused.

Skylar sighed. " Okay, how about this, let's have dinner, I'll pick you up and we'll talk things over," Bruce offered. She furrowed her brows. Did he think he'd just take her out and everything would be solved?

" I rather not go out into public, might hurt your reputation," Skylar said. She heard him take a deep breath. " Then can I come over?" he asked. She took out her time before answering. " Fine," she finally said. " Okay, I get off late, probably after 10," 

Skylar was for some reason excited for Bruce to come. They hadn't seen each other for almost two weeks, hadn't talked. The last time they were together things didn't end nicely. She didn't know what kind of explanation he had or what they would talk about.

She kept changing her outfit. Should she welcome him in her normal everyday house clothes or wear something little more since he was coming over. Skylar normally never thought this kind of thing before, she was comfortable with him and it didn't matter. In the end, she decided on a short, t-shirt and a cardigan.

Skylar was confused about a few things. The way Bruce had been to her, their relationship, friendship and her feelings. The way he acted really hurt her, perhaps more than a simple friend's would have.

But Bruce wasn't a simple friend. It felt different with him, their connection. She had never had any kind of relation with someone else and she didn't want to lose it. He was the first real person she had found in a long time.

When the doorbell rang Skylar felt her heartbeat getting faster and her fingertips starting to get cold. She slowly walked to the door and opened it. Bruce was waiting, leaning to the door with one of his hands while the other was in his pocket. He looked up when she opened the door and looked at her eyes.

At that moment all of the anger Skylar had in herself went away. " Welcome," Skylar mumbled, inviting him in. Bruce gave a half-smile as he stepped in, taking out his jacket and leaving it on the sofa. He stood next to the couch looking at Skylar.

It felt different. Like something was off with them. Both of them seemed nervous. It wasn't like how it used to be with two of them. " Would you like to sit in the balcony? The air tonight is very nice," Skylar asked. Bruce nodded, walking there.

They sat at the couch there. It was a smaller one than the one inside so even though they both sat at the corners, they were pretty close. Skylar crossed her legs, turning to Bruce. " You mentioned something about my assistant on the phone," he finally said.

Skylar gulped. " Yeah, I went to your office last week. They didn't let me pass the security guard and your assistant basically told me your interest in me was over and I should move on," she said. He sighed upon hearing it.

" I was out of the office then, I didn't know," he said. " I'll talk to her," he added. " Sky, I'm sorry, I was dealing with something, it took a lot of my time," he sighed. Skylar looked up to him, she had been looking elsewhere until then, " I'm your friend Bruce, if something's wrong you can share it with me, that's why friends are for. I get that you're busy, I'm not asking you to leave all of your work but it could've been nice if you didn't shut me out,"

Bruce nodded. " You're right, and I'm sorry. I acted wrong," he replied. Skylar bit her lip, looking down. " I thought I had lost you, Bruce, I thought you didn't want me in your life," she admitted. Bruce furrowed his brows, looking at her.

He reached forward to hold her chin, making her look up. " How could you think that?" he asked softly. " I want you in my life Sky, I just, uhm, I love spending time with you. Out there I have responsibilities, I am Bruce Wayne. I have burdens. But when I'm with you, I'm just Bruce. I'm me. I can never not want that in my life," he said.

Skylar couldn't help but get teary. " It's just, when I'm with you I'm happy, I'm carefree. You really did change my life. I've never had someone like you in my life and when you went silent I got afraid. I thought maybe our friendship got too much for you. What people said scared you. I know we've known each other for a really small time but I can't imagine my life without you in it," she said.

" It didn't, I don't care what they say," Bruce said. " Then why did you go out with that blonde while ignoring my texts?" Skylar asked. He seemed surprised at her response. " What blonde?" he asked.

Skylar rolled her eyes. " Cmon, you don't have to lie, I've seen the pictures," she said. When Bruce kept looking at her surprised she took out her phone showing it to him. " Oh, I get it now," he said after a moment. " This is an old picture, probably two years old," he said.

Upon his response blood rushed to her cheeks. " Oh," she mumbled, getting embarrassed. She had just accused him of something when there was nothing to accuse him of. " It was that talk show again, right?" he asked.

She nodded. " They've probably run out of stories to tell, I wasn't with any girls Sky, I swear," he said. "It's, uhm, I, I don't know why I reacted the way I did when I saw it. I was just so sad that you weren't responding and then when I saw that you were out with someone, I guess I just thought my feelings get the best of me,"

Bruce faintly smiled. "It's alright, you had every right to ask me about it," he said. " But know that I'd never do that to you, Skylar, I value too much for that," he said. Her lips twirled up. She finally had the courage to look at him again.

Right now, as they were talking, the awkwardness had reduced. It felt like they were back to being them, Bruce and Skylar. Not the people they talked about on talk shows or what the others made them out to be.

" You know, I've realized in these last days that how much I'm used to having you in my life. How much I need you and how empty it got once you weren't in it. The truth is, I've been afraid to say this for a while but Bruce, I now understand how much I really value you," Skylar admitted.

Bruce didn't say anything, just looked at her eyes. He seemed to be in deep thought. " And, the thought of not having you in my life, it shattered me. Made me feel like I was falling and no one was there to save me," she continued.

" Sky, you have no idea the impact you have on me, how you make me feel," Bruce whispered, like he hadn't decided whether he wants to say that out loud or not. Skylar leaned in. " So, let me know," she whispered back.

When she looked at him, really looked at him, she realized something. The way she was feeling, it wasn't normal. The way she got without him in these last weeks, it wasn't normal. The way she immediately shined when they were together wasn't normal.

The uneasy feeling she had on her stomach whenever Bruce touched wasn't normal. The places he touched being on fire wasn't normal. The way he called his name, the nickname he used from time to time, the way they looked at each other, it wasn't how normal friends had done it.

She immediately remembered some of the past things that had happened. The things he said. The way he ignored her question when she asked whether he wanted her to sleep with him or be his arm candy. He had replied by saying he didn't want her to be his arm candy, completely avoiding the other part of the question.

How he asked her out to dinner the first time, mumbling and excusing Mandragora. He could've done it over the phone but he didn't. The times he looked stunned upon seeing her all dressed up. The times he always complimented her, the way he gazed at her.

The way he got with his friends when Skylar met them. She always thought he was acting timid because of her but maybe it was because he was nervous for her to meet them. He wanted it to go good, for them to like each other.

As memories filled Skylar's mind her heartbeat went up, tips of her fingers getting colder. The uneasy feeling she had on her stomach she only had witch Bruce appearing again. He was looking at her so beautifully. She loved the way he looked at her.

Skylar leaned forward, her knee pressing against his legs. Bruce quickly looked down and up, at her. She kept going, her heart beating feeling like it was beating at her ears and finally lightly pressed her lips to Bruce's.

They were warm. She had to admit, Skylar had thought of how his lips felt like before a few times. It wasn't anything like she had imagined. They tasted like black coffee.

He wasn't responding to the kiss so Skylar leaned back. Had she read all the signs wrong? He didn't feel like that toward her? Had she messed up their friendship when they've just repaired it?

She was afraid to look up to his eyes and face rejection but she did it anyway. She saw that Bruce looked like he was having a debate within himself. Like he was forcing himself from doing something. He was looking between her and the floor.

Her throat felt dry. She was feeling guilty, embarrassed and worried. She gulped, feeling like she might cry. " Bruce, I," she started, Bruce looked up and saw her. And it was like something clicked in.

He shot forward, grabbing her face and pulling her to his body, not letting her speak by connecting their lips.

A chill had covered Skylar's body as he kissed her. She got on her knees and moved herself to his lap without breaking the kiss. Her hands were around him, his hair, his body. It felt like she was on fire, that she could light up on fire right then and there.

Bruce grabbed her waist, gently grabbing her and getting up, walking inside. He softly put her to the bed, kissing her neck. " You have no clue how long I've been waiting to do that," he murmured to her skin.

Skylar smiled in response, grabbing a piece of his hair and kissing him again. She felt complete with him, his touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YESSSSSSSSS!!!!! IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!!! TELL ME YOUR REACTIONS PLEASEEE :))))


	14. Fourteen

The next morning Skylar woke up around 11 AM. She turned around in the bed to find Bruce awake and doing something on his phone. "Good morning," she mumbled, sitting up with the sheets covering her. " How long have you been up?" she asked.

Bruce put the phone to the nightstand beside the bed and turned to her. " Morning, a while," he replied. " I didn't want you to wake up alone," he added. Skylar smiled. "Thanks, don't you need to get to the office?"

" I do, in two hours," he said. "Okay, how about this? You go take a shower and I'll make my killer pancakes," she offered. Bruce cocked an eyebrow. " Oh, the infamous ones I've heard so much about?"

Skylar nodded again. " Yes, so what do you say?" she asked. " Alright, I guess I can go for pancakes," he said. She waited until he got out of the bed and into the bathroom to get up. She did stare at his back for a few seconds too, and she had realized the bruises.

She didn't want to say anything but she had seen a couple of bruises across his body last night. Skylar had no idea how or why he had them and didn't want to pressure him into telling something he was ready but she was curious.

With a huff, she got out of the bed, quickly wearing a hoodie and shorts then made her way over to the kitchen. As she started to take out the ingredients and the pan she couldn't help but wonder now that they've done what they did last night how would it affect them.

She didn't regret it, not one bit, but she wanted to know how Bruce felt. He certainly didn't seem like he was regretting it last night but maybe his opinions changed. Skylar meant what she said last night, she didn't want to lose Bruce from her life.

Twenty minutes later the pancakes were almost ready when Bruce got out of the shower. He collected his clothes from the floor of the bedroom and put them on then walked toward the kitchen. " Do you want me to iron them?" Skylar asked.

" No need, it's not my first time wearing the same thing twice," he replied. She cocked an eyebrow. " Okay," she mumbled. " What do you got planned for today?" Bruce asked. Skylar shrugged as she put one of the newly cooked pancakes to the plate.

" I don't know, not much honestly. I haven't been to any classes for the past week or so and this week's about to end, I guess I'll just skip it altogether, you?" she replied. Bruce walked into the kitchen, toward the coffee machine to be exact, and started making some.

After turning the machine on he leaned to the counter, crossing his arms on his chest and watching Skylar. " I've got a couple of meetings at the company, I've also promised Dick to take him out tonight," he said.

Skylar grabbed the plates full of pancakes after cooking the last one and put it into the counter on the side. " Sounds busy," she said taking out the sauces. " Yeah," he mumbled. At his response, she didn't say anything and sat on one of the stools.

Right then the coffee machine beeped and Bruce turned around, pouring it into two cups. He then opened the fridge, taking out the milk and adding it to one of the cups. He put it next to Skylar plate, " With milk right?" he asked.

" Yup," she replied, taking a sip and watching him. " Cmon, try it, I want to know what you think of my cooking," she said with a smile, trying to change the air. " Okay," he said with a faint smile, cutting out a piece and eating it.

After a second he started nodding. " Not bad," he said. Skylar gasped, " NOT BAD? You're kidding," she exclaimed. Bruce chuckled. " Yeah, I am, it's delicious," he said. She rolled her eyes at him.

For the next half hour, they ate and joked. Skylar could sense he was purposely holding himself off but she decided not to say anything, for now, to see if he could come to terms with it himself. He'd eventually tell her, she knew it.

Bruce left a while after the breakfast. Their 'goodbye' at the door was certainly weird. She leaned on for a kiss, on the lips, but he turned his head, making her kiss his cheek. Skylar tried to play it off and smiled. " Bye," she mumbled.

"Bye," Bruce muttered, turning around and walking quickly. Skylar took a deep breath when she shut the door after him. Not knowing what to do. How to process it all.

The events of last night were huge, at least for her. She wanted to talk about it, not with Bruce but with someone else. He was, well, he was a male and she needed to talk it over with another girl. Someone who would relate. She took out her phone, calling Lois.

" Lois, hey! Are you busy?" She asked cheerfully. Her tone had come out way excited then she wanted, but now that Bruce had left the apartment she had finally processed what was really going on and that got her excited.

" No, I'm on my lunch break, what's up?" Lois asked. " So, something happened tonight, and I wanted to share it with you, I really need some girl time to talk about it," Skylar explained. " I'm excited, spill, NOW," Lois responded.

Skylar smiled at her response. Even when she thought about it her heartbeat would get higher and she'd have this intense need to smile. " Well, uhm, I don't know how to say it subtly so I'll just say it, alright? Bruce and I, well, he spent the night at my apartment,"

" Oh my god! Finally! Yes!" Lois cheered into the phone. " I told Clark this would happen, he owes me a twenty," she continued. Skylar bit her lip. " You two betted on us?" she asked. " Of course, the sexual tension was there Skylar, even a blind person could see it," Lois replied.

Skylar sighed. "So, anyway, what do you think?" she asked. " What do I think? It's due to time, that's for sure, but I need you to give me more details," Lois said. " Well, uhm, he called me yesterday, first time after the dinner all of us had, he came over, we got to talking and I kissed him,"

" That's it, that's all you are giving me?" Lois asked. Skylar chuckled. "Yeah, some parts should stay private to us, don't you think?" she asked. Lois laughed. " I suppose, anyway, I'm really glad to hear Bruce finally let himself do something that's good for him,"

The girls talked on the phone for a while, about the events of last night, about Lois and Clark and their daily lives. Eventually, Lois had to end the call given she had to go back to her job and claim her twenty dollars from Clark. Skylar asked her to not make a big scene out of it, it was still fairly new and she didn't want to jeopardize anything.

Meanwhile, they had entered December a while ago and Skylar needed to go Christmas shopping. So she spent the next two days on doing just that. She went back to Central City for the past three years and wasn't sure she'd go now, but she still wanted to get her parents gifts regardless of her presence there.

She also wanted to get Bruce something too but she wasn't sure what, did he even like the holidays? If he did, what could you buy for a man financially capable of buying everything?

While out shopping for groceries Skylar came to a realization on Thursday afternoon. She needed to talk to Bruce. They had been talking on the phone and texting for the past days but she still felt like he was holding himself back, for some reason.

The last time they had a conversation it led to them having sex but they spoke honestly and she felt like that was they needed to do, again. Something was obviously bothering Bruce and she wanted to know why, if it was what happened between them, they needed to sort it out.

So Skylar took out her phone, calling Bruce to invite him over. She was going to make some spaghetti along with meatballs. It was one of the most decent things she could cook for the life of her anyway.

Thankfully Bruce agreed to it and Skylar sped up, quickly finishing her shopping and rushing home. She wanted to create a good ambiance for them to talk, a space that they could talk freely, without pressuring him.

The offer might've looked like an intimate one to Bruce, even like a date and she didn't want him feeling anything out of force so she made sure everything in her power to not make it feel like one. No dim lighting, candles, background music or fancy clothes.

Just a dinner for two friends who were going to hang out, plain and simple. And watch a movie.

It was around 9 when Bruce arrived. This time, she didn't lean on for kissing him, just a genuine smile and a 'welcome'. "Hey," Bruce said, walking in. He seemed to be ina good mood, at least that's how he seemed like.

" Someone seems happy," Skylar said after him, closing the door. " Yeah, I was having some trouble at work but I'm close to solving it," he said. " That's nice, the food's almost ready and I've prepared the movie,"

Bruce sat on the sofa, taking off his shirt and setting it aside. He rubbed his hands together as he settled in. " Great, what are we watching?" he asked. Skylar smirked, walking to the kitchen. "Surprise, but a major step in your popular culture knowledge,"

He sighed loudly. " It's Lord of the Rings, isn't it?" he asked. " Of course it is! It's truly amazing how you walked this earth and never watched it," Skylar said, handing him a plate and sitting on the sofa.

Bruce shrugged. " Never caught my attention," he said. Skylar gasped. " How dare you, good sir? It is unacceptable and we're putting an end to it now, you'll thank me later," she said. The pair shared a quick smile before playing the movie.

Three and half hours later Skylar turned to Bruce. " If you tell me that masterpiece didn't impress you, not even one bit, I will kill you," she said seriously. He put up his hands in defeat. " I'll admit, I didn't even realize how three hours went by, I was mesmerized,"

She clapped her hands excitedly. " Yes, the master sees the worth," she exclaimed. Bruce chuckled at her. Then the silence kicked in, it was time to talk. None of them was looking at the other.

" Bruce," Skylar said, taking in a deep breath and looking at him. " What's wrong?" she asked. Bruce finally looked up to him, and just by his eyes, she could tell he was thinking of a lot of things.

" We need to talk, you've been distant, I can feel it, and I want to be there for you. Please let me," Skylar said softly, sliding toward him on the couch. " Do you regret it?" she asked. Bruce furrowed his brows. " No, god no," he said immediately.

He then took a deep breath. " Then what is it?" she asked. " I, well, there are some people out there, who want to hurt me, and they would stop at nothing to do it," he explained. Skylar nodded. " Okay," she mumbled.

" You have competitors, enemies, even. I get it, it's business, " she said. Bruce sighed as he got up, turning away from her. " No, you don't get it," he said sharply. Skylar got up and took a step towards him but he turned around, facing her.

" If they knew, that, that I had someone, someone special, they would want to hurt you, to get back at me. I'd be making you a target Sky. I can't do that to you," he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. " I can't put you in danger,"

Skylar looked up his eyes, determined. " You wouldn't, Bruce, you wouldn't," she said. He gave her a look. " You and I both know it would, we've been out together a few times and your face was already on TV, how do you think it's gonna go down from there?"

" So, what? We won't go in public together, I don't care," she replied. " That's not fair to you, it'd be wrong Skylar, it would be disrespectful of me to even ask you such a thing," Bruce sighed. She bit the inside of her cheeks frustratedly at his response.

She knew that neither of them wanted to let the other one go, but the rest of it was a mystery. What could they do in a situation like this? It was clear he wasn't going to cut her out of his life but he didn't want to take the next step as well.

" What do you want?" she asked him. When he didn't answer Skylar put her hands around his neck, making him look her in the eye and repeated her question. " What I want doesn't matter, I have a lot to think of, and I won't make the wrong choice,"

Skylar took a deep breath. " I didn't ask you that, I asked you what do you want," she said. " And I said," Bruce started to say after a sigh but she cut him off. "Bruce! Answer the question, what do you want?"

Bruce leaned down, pressing his lips to hers as his answer. His hands traveled down from her shoulders to her waist, pulling her closer. Skylar immediately accepted the kiss, putting her arms around him.

Then, suddenly, Bruce took a step back, breaking the kiss. " Was this what you wanted to hear Sky? Because it is what I want. I want to kiss you, hold you. I want you to be mine. I want to take you out, show you off, introduce you to my friends and family, but I can't, I can't allow myself to get closer to you, " he said whispering toward the end, sitting at the sofa and covering his face.

Skylar slowly sat next to him, grabbing his hands and looking at him. " I understand that it is too much for you and you have a lot to worry about, but you can still do a lot of those things without putting me in danger as you put it. I don't want Bruce Wayne, I want you, I don't care about the rest," she said softly.

He watched her, not saying anything. " I can also see that you have a lot on your mind and need time. So how about this, we put everything on hold. Until you can make a decision. We'll just go back, to when it was just us being us, no complications," she offered.

Bruce nodded, about to speak when his phone vibrated. He took it out and Skylar took a deep breath. She knew what he was going to say. "You have to go, right?" she asked. "Yeah," he replied. " Okay, go take care of it,"

He didn't reply, getting up and putting on his jacket. They walked to the door in silence. " Skylar, I," he started to say but Skylar cut him off. "It's okay, just let me know when you're free and we can watch the two towers then," she said.

Unable to say something Bruce nodded slowly then walked away. She watched him leave for a few seconds before closing the door and taking a deep breath. He needed time to figure out things, his feelings and what he wanted. And in the end, she had no choice but to respect his decision.


	15. Fifteen

The next couple of weeks went simple for Skylar. She attended some classes, studied, read some book and hang out with Bruce a few times. They watched all of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movies.

It wasn't as awkward as Skylar thought it would be. They were both playing off like nothing happened and just being their usual selves. Of course, there were times when Skylar had caught onto what Lois would call 'sexual tensions'. 

Other than that the times they spent together were fun. They would joke around, watch movies, talk about them and their lives, eat food and genuinely have a good time. They also talked about Christmas too, since it was in a few days, and Skylar learned that he wasn't celebrating it, ever since he became an orphan anyway.

With that in mind, Skylar felt bed. She had already ordered a gift for him online, a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince, but it was supposed to be one of the first editions of the book, from when it originally came out in the 16th century. 

He had mentioned that he liked to read his works and the only thing Skylar could think of to buy him was this. It did cost her a small fortune but in the end, it was worth it. 

It was also snowing throughout the country and it seemed like she wouldn't be able to go home because of the weather. Her parents had also told her that it was okay and that they would be more than happy to have a Christmas just by themselves. She hadn't decided what she was going to do that day, maybe she could spend it with Bruce, if he had no other plans. She'd see.

That day, even though the snowy day outside urged Skylar to stay in and cuddle in bed all day along with a movie she knew she had to go out. The day before she was informed her gift for Bruce had arrived and she had to go pick it up. She also had a couple of other things to do as well.

On her way there Bruce called her, to confirm about their movie night, again. This time they were going to watch Star Wars. Thankfully Bruce had seen the first three movies, much to Skylar's surprise because cmon, the man hadn't got a clue on everything else, so they were going to watch the next one.

Skylar approved, saying while she was out she was going to get some popcorn and ginger ale to go along with it. He really got her hooked up on those things. Which led Bruce to ask where she was, she answered which then lead Bruce to ask if she wanted to come over to Wayne Tower for a coffee.

She asked whether he was sure, it'd be public in a way but Bruce said that it was okay, it was his office anyway and she'd been there before. He asked her to tell him once she was there so he could greet her. She was grateful for it, given the last time she was there.

After quickly getting his gift she made her way over to Wayne Tower. The air was cold and the tip of her nose had already gotten a little red from it. Luckily, she didn't forget to wear her gloves so her hands for fine, at the moment.

She took a deep breath as she entered the building. To Skylar's luck, the same security guard from the last time was there, again. "Oh, great, you again," he mumbled, giving her a look. Skylar opened her mouth so say something but she got cut off.

" I thought I was being clear with you, you can't be here," Claire said, holding a cup of coffee. She had her coat on which meant that she was coming from outside. She was also holding two other cups of coffee in the takeout bag. 

Skylar eyed the coffees she had in her hand while the guard looked between them. " I'm sorry Miss Jackson, I told her that but she seems persistent," the guard said. Claire smiled at the guard then turned back to Skylar. " I really don't want neither Mr.Wayne or authorities to hear this so I'm going to ask you once more time, don't come here again or," 

Someone else cut her off. " Actually Claire, I asked Miss Jones to come," Bruce said, walking away from the elevator and toward them. Claire and the security guard immediately changed their postures, straightening them. "Mr.Wayne," they both said.

Skylar couldn't help but feel the need to stick out her tongue to both of them, but since she was ana adult and that was a serious workplace she used all of her willpower to refrain from that. " I'm sorry Mr.Wayne, I thought," Claire started saying but Bruce shushed her again.

" It's okay Claire, as long as a misunderstanding like this doesn't ever happen to Miss Jones again, are we clear?" he asked, looking at her and the guard. Both of them nodded. "Good, I can take the coffee now," Bruce said once again, reaching out for the cups.

Claire gave them out in shock. He handed one of them to Skylar. " With milk," he said with a faint smile. She was watching the whole thing excitedly. " Yeah, thanks," she mumbled and they started walking to the elevator. That's where Claire was coming from.

" That was a pretty cool thing you did there," Skylar said once they got inside. Bruce shrugged. " No one should ever treat you like that, I was just correcting it," he said as he took a sip. She couldn't help but her lips twirl along to his response.

They walked to his office in silence. Skylar didn't exactly know why he wanted to have coffee, they were meeting up tonight anyway, not that she was complaining about it. " So, what's up?" she asked, sitting at the couch.

" What do you mean?" Bruce asked. Skylar shrugged. "You asked to meet up, was there a reason?" she replied. He furrowed his brows. "Should there be? Can't I ask a friend to come over for a coffee?" 

Skylar smiled. " You can, anyway, it doesn't matter because I'll just use this as an opportunity," she said. " An opportunity, for what?" he asked surprised. She didn't answer as she smirked, opening her bag.

" Okay, so I know you told me you didn't celebrate Christmas and all, but it is a Jones family tradition to give presents to your close ones, so here you go," Skylar said as she handed him the package.

Bruce seems surprised. He smiled abruptly while getting the gift. " I, I wasn't expecting this," he mumbled, opening the gift. "Wow," he said as he eyed the book. " I honestly don't know what to say, thank you," he added.

He then leaned forward, hugging her tightly. Skylar immediately hugged him back, leaning her head to his chest, breathing in his smell along with his perfume. They stayed like that for a while before they eventually had to break it apart.

" I feel bad now, I didn't get you anything," he said, looking at her eyes. Skylar shrugged. " That's alright, like I said it's a family tradition and don't worry, you have already given me a gift," she said. He was looking at her so intensely that Skylar felt very hot.

She coughed, breaking the moment. " Anyway, I really hope you like it, it was really hard to find," she said. " Oh, yeah, how did you find it exactly? I doubt any bookstore would have it on demand," he said.

" I'm not going to lie, it was hard. I've been trying for like two weeks, I went to a couple of book shops, talking to the owners on where I could find it. The names they gave me led to me to this one guy, a collector, who bought it a while back. After a week of non-stop asking, negotiating price and my copy of great gatsby, he agreed," 

Bruce watched her talk, mesmerized. " You traded your book and paid money, to get me this? It must've cost you a fortune," he said. Skylar shrugged. " It was worth it?" she asked and Bruce rolled his eyes at her.

Skylar gasped at the interaction. " What? You just rolled your eyes at me? You? This is a first, I must record this," she said excitedly. Bruce only chuckled at her response. " You're unbelievable," he finally said.

" I know," she whispered and both of them chuckled. " Whew," she said afterward, leaning on the couch, " I'm glad you like it because you are literally the hardest person to find a good gift to on this earth, I swear,"

They spent a while talking and drinking their coffee. When Skylar realized the time she shot up from her seat. " Oh, shit! I'm running late," she said, getting her back. Bruce watched her with his brows furrowed. 

" To where?" he asked. Skylar sighed. " I have a job interview. My money's been running out and I'm still two months away from starting the spring semester, so, I need money, and for the said money I need a job," she explained.

" If you are worried about money," Bruce started but Skylar cut him off. " No, you've already given me plenty, I'm not taking any more of your money, it'll be good for me anyway, I'll have something to do besides sitting all day," 

He sighed. " It really wouldn't be a problem," he said. She gave him a glare. " Bruce, no, I don't want to live off your money, thank you, but pass," she said. " Fine," he breathed out. " Where's this interview anyway, am I allowed to ask that at least?" 

" Yes, you are. I found this diner, downtown. The work hours doesn't seem that bad plus they pay good," she said. Bruce shot up from his seat. " Downtown? No, no way," he said. Skylar furrowed her brows, giving him a look. " Excuse me?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Bruce took a step toward her. " It's a dangerous part of the city," he said. She rolled her eyes. " Bruce, we're in Gotham, everywhere's dangerous if you haven't noticed," she replied. "Yeah, but that part is particularly not the safest," he sighed.

" I don't care, I'm from Central City and I've spent my college years in Metropolis, it doesn't scare me," she replied, walking to the door. "Skylar," Bruce spat, grabbing her arm and turning her. " I don't think it's a good idea, if it's a job you want I'll find it for you, I can even get you one in here so it'd be an internship, good for your school as well,"

Skylar furrowed her brows, watching him talk. She put her right hand on his chest. " It's just an interview, and I want to do this myself, please. You've opened every door for me since the second I got there and I've been feeling useless lately, let me just do this on my own, it's not even a guarantee that they'll hire me," she said.

Bruce took a deep breath, looking at her. His face seemed emotionless, but Skylar could tell that he was a bit mad about it. " Fine, be careful though," he said. She nodded. " Always am," she replied. Then she turned around when she was at the door. " What time I should be expecting you tonight?"

" Around 7, but I'll let you know if it changes," he said, checking his watch. " Great," she said, getting out of the office. Claire was sitting at her desk, doing some work when she got out. 

The two shared a look. Skylar understood that Claire was just doing her job, she could've been a random girl too, so she wasn't exactly mad at her. " Thanks for the coffee," Skylar said with a smile. " Have a good day,". Claire seemed surprised at her friendliness. She smiled in return. " Thank you, have a good day too Miss Jones," she said. 

Time went by fast after Skylar left Bruce's office. The ride to downtown took her about forty-five minutes. She waited about twenty before the manager finally came to talk to her. It was about to be 6 PM when she was walking to the bus.

She needed to catch the next bus, which was in five minutes, but walking from the road would be a waste of time so she decided to take the short cut. It required her to walk through this narrow looking dark alley to get there.

She was half-way in, walking past the homeless people quickly when two guys jumped in front of her. They both had knives and it wasn't hard to get that they were thieves. " Give us all of your money, now!" one of them shouted at her, holding the knife toward her.

Skylar's heartbeat sped up, her fingertips getting cold and adrenalin kicking in. "Great," she whispered to herself, only by her chance some teens decided to rob her in an afternoon, especially after Bruce warned her and she was her usual stubborn self. 

" Okay, okay," she said quickly, opening her bag to get her wallet. She didn't have that much money on her anyway, only a few bucks for the bus and grocery shopping she was going to do later.

As she was about to hand in the money someone jumped behind the teens. Skylar eyed him surprisingly as the teens turned around in fear. " Oh, fuck!" one of them said. It was Batman. He was there, standing a meter away from Skylar.

One of the guys took a step toward him, trying to stab him but Batman avoided it, punching his stomach, causing him to fall. He turned to the other guy, who was attempting the same thing. Batman grabbed his hand, making the knife fell and punched him.

Within a minute, both men were laying on the floor, unconscious. Skylar watched the whole thing with her jaw dropped. Sure, she had seen the Flash and Superman before, but from afar, this was her first time seeing someone from the Leauge, this close, helping her. 

Batman then walked toward Skylar, kneeling over and getting her wallet. She had dropped it out of shock. He handed it to her, then turned around, walking. " Wait, aren't you even going to wait for me to say thank you?" Skylar called out after him.

He stopped and turned around. He wasn't saying anything. " Thank you," Skylar said. Batman nodded. " This is a dangerous part of the city, be careful," he only said, then took out something, firing it toward the sky and getting out of eyesight.

Skylar watched him disappear as she took a deep breath. This was turning to be a day full of surprises. She quickly started walking toward the bus station, playing the scene over on her head. 

There was something that got caught up on her mind, the way Batman responded. How he said 'dangerous part of the city'. It seemed familiar. 

Skylar was placing her groceries when Bruce came. She said she'd be done shortly so he was watching her, leaning on the counter. " So, tell me, how was the rest of your day? The interview," Bruce asked.

" Eh, I don't know, the guy didn't seem that impressed, to be honest," Skylar replied. " He told me to expect his call, we'll see," she said as she put out the things she bought from the bag and onto their respective places.

" I also almost got robbed," she said. " I'm sorry, what? You were ROBBED?" Bruce asked, standing up straight and looking at her. " The keyword being almost," Skylar said as she shook the milk then put it inside the fridge.

Bruce sighed. " I told you that it's a dangerous part of the city," he said. Skylar froze with his words and turned to face him. " What did you say?" she asked. " It's a dangerous part of the city," Bruce replied, unsure of why Skylar asked him that.

Skylar furrowed her brows. They were identical words and there was a thing with how he said it. " Huh," she said as she kept on doing her work as millions of things started to run inside her mind. All the 'mid-night' emergencies, the mysterious talking, the bruises, everything.

She gasped as the realization hit her. 

Skylar took a deep breath as she turned to Bruce, shrugging. " Anyway, it wasn't a big deal since you were there to save the day, right?" she asked. If she could, she would have taken a picture of Bruce's face at that exact moment.

" What?" Bruce asked. " You were there, you beat up those guys, and saved me, you've already forgotten?" Skylar played. " I don't follow," he said. She upped her right eyebrow along with a smirk. " Yeah, sure," she said walking toward him.

Just as she was passing him she turned around, throwing a punch to him. By reflex, Bruce grabbed her arm, turning her body and disabling her from hitting. Her back was now on his chest and he was holding her arm.

Skylar turned to him with a smirk. " The same move you did today, or should we try it with a knife too?" she said. Bruce let her go with a sigh. " Skylar, this was just self-defense," he said, a faint hint of defeat lingering in his tone.

" Bruce," she said, taking a step toward him and looking him right in the eye. " You can't lie to me," she followed up. They spent almost a good minute just looking at each other, having an intense battle of looks.

" Like I said, it was self-defense, I'm not Batman," Bruce finally said. Skylar smirked. " I never did tell you it was Batman who saved me, how did you know?" she asked, knowing that she just won the argument.

Bruce was surprised by her words and he opened and closed his mouth for a few times to say something, but he never did. She was enjoying watching him be like that. "Well?" she asked, crossing her arms on her chest.

" Shit," Bruce muttered eventually, knowing his secret was out.

" Yes," he said," I'm Batman,"


	16. Sixteen

" Yes," he said, " I'm Batman," 

Skylar gasped even though she had figured the truth already, but hearing him say it aloud must've been different for her. " Oh my god!" she exclaimed. " How did you figure it out?" he asked.

She sighed. " I put the pieces together," she replied. Bruce gave her a look so she rolled her eyes. " Cmon," she breathed out, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the sofa. They both sat there and she turned to him.

" The calls and messages you keep getting. It's out of nowhere and suddenly you have to leave, and then there's a news flash that something has happened, Joker, Harley Quinn, someone. Plus, I've realized that whenever you have to leave, your infamous bat signal seems to be on," Skylar explained, smirking at the end.

Bruce shrugged. " Also, the fact that you have bruises all around your body," she admitted. He rolled his tongue. "Ah, you didn't miss that," he said. Skylar put up her hands in the air as a form of response. " It's kinda hard to miss, you know, when doing what we did," 

He nodded, not being able to answer. He had hoped she'd focus on other things on the night they spent together. Her point had led the conversation to somewhere else, where Bruce wasn't ready to talk, and she was quick to catch on it. She gulped before changing the topic, " And when you said you had enemies that would want to hurt you, it makes sense," 

"Wow," Bruce breathed out. " I mean, I knew you were smart but you are the first person to figure out my identity, ever," he added. It was true, the facade he had, the show he put on as Bruce Wayne, it was all really a play to keep his identity hidden.

Skylar smiled triumphantly. " It's probably because you never let someone close to you, it only took two months of being your friend, and great observational skills," she said. She was true, yet again. The only people who Bruce let get close to him was Alfred and Dick. He chucked at the last remark.

" So, the cat's out of the bag, I'm assuming you have questions," he said. Skylar nodded. " Yes, so many! Where do even begin? I can't believe this is real, wow, okay, here I go," she started rambling.

" How did you learn to fight like that? How can you move that way? Are you and the others in the Leauge really friends? Can Aquaman really talk to fish? Did Superman and Wonder Woman really had a thing going on? How many other heroes do you really know outside the Leauge? Have you been to space? Is it true that Superman is faster than the Flash? What's it all like? "

Bruce watched her list questions, amused. When she was done she looked at him with such big eyes, as if she was a child who asked her mother for extra candy. " In my travels, it was included in my training, yes-- uh kinda, apparently the water does the talking, yes for a while, it was a long time ago, I know plenty, yes, no Flash is faster, it's my job," he answered them.

" I have so many more questions just based on your reply," Skylar said. " This is so unreal, I can't believe this," she huffed, laying back on the couch and occasionally looking at Bruce. " Wait!" she exclaimed suddenly. " This explains everything!" 

Bruce furrowed his brows, sometimes even he couldn't keep up with Skylar. " The night we met, all of it," she added. " Ahh, yes," Bruce muttered. " Do you want to know about that night, honestly?" he asked. She nodded.

" Well, we were suspicious of Mandragora for a while, that he was getting his hands dirty. But we couldn't do as the Leauge, I mean the guy is hardly like the other people we stop. He doesn't attack the city, he takes care of things like the mobster he is, so we had to come up with a plan to take him down in a different way," he started explaining.

" Hence the reason why Bruce Wayne suddenly decided to expand to Metropolis," Skylar said and Bruce nodded. " Exactly, that's why I was sure Hawkins would accept whatever I offered, he was going to jump to the deal, it was all just a show. I didn't want them being suspicious so I had to play it off as I was really interested, especially with the other companies,"

" But then I saw you. You looked so, I don't know how to say, out of place. I could tell you didn't want to be there and someone made you come. It's a classic move, offering up a woman in a business deal. That's why I asked you about your job during our dance. Truth is, I had no intention of speaking to you after my phone call. I wasn't in Metropolis to play off my character, I was there to do my job, cut a deal with Hawkins, and I had done it. But, during my phone call, I saw you and Hawkins. Him hurting you. I could tell it was not the first time as well,"

Skylar had started looking down as Bruce shared his observations. He could sense her embarrassment about it. He softly reached out to her cheek, making her look at him. God, she was so beautiful. 

" It's nothing to be embarrassed about, you were forced Sky," he said. She eased into his hand. " I know, but just even thinking about it makes me feel so powerless, back then I felt like I could never get free from him, that I had no voice," she replied. 

Unintentionally Bruce's first instinct was to pull her to him, covering her smaller body with his arms, wanting to make her feel safe and secure, like he promised he would. " You never ever have to feel like that again," he decided to say instead.

Skylar nodded and mouthed 'thank you'. He smiled, just being able to make her smile a bit was enough to make his day. He loved her smile, so much. 

" Anyway, at that moment I realized I had to help you, and the only way was to make them believe I would sleep with you. You should've seen your face when I asked you to come up with me. It was as if you were a rabbit crossing the street and a car was a meter away from you. At that point, all I was concerned with was gathering information on Hawkins then letting you go, but, then, well, you called me a, what was the word that you taught me, ah yes, a fuckboy, you called me that and I was impressed," 

Skylar blushed at his words, hiding her face. " In my defense, you are the one with the playboy reputation," she tried to say but Bruce chuckled it off. " I'm not mad, like I said, I was impressed that you call me that, so many people fall at my feet because I'm Bruce Wayne but no, you were going to give me a piece of your mind, even though you fully knew I could potentially send you back downstairs and have face those men," 

" So, I decided to help you out. I was taking down Mandragora and his men one way or another and it is my job to protect people like you. And I did," he finished explaining. Skylar nodded. " Now it makes sense, really, I was still debating why you wanted to help me so much,"

They talked awhile, particularly Skylar asking Bruce questions and him answering them. " Okay, wait, now that I know about all of it, I still have one thing I can't make sense of, why did you invite me to the Elliot event?" she asked.

Bruce bit his lip, being caught. " Oh well, that was just because I wanted to see you again," he admitted. " Oh," Skylar mumbled. " I actually thought that one was pretty obvious," he continued which caused Skylar to hit him lightly on the chest. They chuckled afterward.

" I must admit, I was not expecting you to react this well, I thought you'd be way more freaked out," Bruce said honestly. In reality, if you told anyone else that Bruce Wayne was really Batman they would've laughed at your face.

" Yeah, I mean, I've come to terms with there being these other 'beings' other than human. Speedsters, aliens, meta-humans, it's been a part of our lives for so long now, I'm just excited to meet you, but since I know you as you, it's just exciting," Skylar tried to explain.

Bruce hoped her knowing this could help her understand why Bruce had his doubts on being with her. He wanted her, truly. In every way. But it wasn't easy. Lois and Clark was a big example. Yes, he was always there to save her but that didn't change Lois constantly being in danger because of her connection to Superman. 

The people he dealt with, they were borderline crazy and even the thought of something happening to Skylar killed Bruce. Didn't even matter whether it was because of him or not, it was hard to think about even only in theory.

Skylar was a gift to Bruce. That's what he thought. Her pure existence made Bruce feel alive again, like he could find happiness. She was everything he was looking for. A couple of months ago he didn't even know her but now he didn't spend a day where she wasn't on his mind.

The day she kissed him, it was something Bruce had thought for a long time. But doing that, it meant that they would cross a line that they couldn't get behind, ever again. He had tried, to put distance between himself and her, to make himself not feel the things he did, but one look at her eyes and how hurt she looked, and all of his worries had vanished.

She had this effect on him, Bruce didn't know how to describe it, but one look was enough.

" Okay, I've got one more question to ask, but I hope this doesn't come off as weird," Skylar said. She looked timid, like she was about to ask something she shouldn't. " Go for it," Bruce replied. " I know that right now things between us are complicated and I agreed to give you time, so I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but if you'd want it too, I'd really like to meet your son," 

Bruce was shocked to his core, to say the least. " You would?" he asked. Skylar nodded. "Yeah, he's a big part of your life, and I care about you, so I'd like to meet him," she explained. He'd never thought he'd meet a woman who wasn't scared by him having a son, but then, Skylar wasn't like any other woman he had met.

" I'd really like that," he replied. " How about tomorrow? You come over for dinner?" he offered. Alfred was grilling Bruce about Skylar, how he should act on it and how he wants to meet with her properly. 

" Okay, sounds good," Skylar replied and smiled. For that moment, Bruce let himself get lost in that minute. Just him and her, watching her smile, out of pure joy. If he could choose a moment to live inside forever, it would be one just like that.

As expected, both Dick and Alfred were very happy to learn that Skylar was coming over. Alfred even said that he would cook some of his special meals, the ones he only cooked at special events, like graduations and birthdays.

Bruce was picking up Skylar on his way home. He tried not to show it but he was excited for her to meet his family. Alfred had raised him and he was a father figure and Dick, no matter adopted, was his son, their opinions mattered. 

Skylar seemed excited too. " Okay, how do I look? I didn't know what to wear, I kept changing them, is it alright?" she asked. Bruce chuckled. " Sky, you are just fine, don't overthink it," he said. " If anything, they are probably more excited to meet you," 

For the road, they talked, mostly about the daily life in Wayne Manor, and how Dick always tried to get out of schoolwork by doing something. It felt nice, to talk about every part of his life with someone, someone special. 

The car stopped in front of the stairs. Bruce got out first and offered his hand for her. She took it and she got out. She was eyeing the house. " I know," he muttered but she shook her head. " It looks different when there's sun," she said, climbing the stairs.

Then Bruce remembered the time Skylar came here by herself that night looking for him. He sighed as he tried to get it out of his mind and joined her. Before they were even done Alfred had already opened the door.

" Master Wayne, welcome back. Miss Jones, lovely to see you again," Alfred greeted them. " Hello, Alfred, how are you?" she asked him. " Quite alright, I hope you like my cooking, Miss Jones," he replied.

Skylar smiled. " I'm sure I will, Bruce has told me all about it. Also, please call me Skylar, Miss Jones makes me feel weird," she said. This was Bruce's time to cut in. "Believe me, he won't, do you know how many times I asked him to just call me by my name?" 

Alfred looked like he wanted to roll his eyes sp hard at that moment. " I best go check the food for the final time, meanwhile Master Grayson awaits in the living room," he said then turned around. Bruce placed his hand on Skylar's waist, guiding her through the way inside the manor. 

When the pair walked into the house they found him doing homework on the table. Bruce softly coughed, alerting their presence, although he could tell Dick had heard them come in and just playing it cool.

He looked up. " Oh, hello," he said getting up. He walked to Skylar. " Hello, I'm Skylar," she introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Dick, nice to meet you," he said and smiled. " I've heard about you from Bruce, I've been waiting to meet you for a time now," he added.

Skylar's smile got even bigger at his words. " I'm honored, I've been wanting to meet you too," she replied. " What were you doing back there?" Bruce asked, pointing the table. " Oh, history homework, the Golden Ages of the countries in Europe during Middle Ages, you know, the usual," 

" Oh, I love that subject, it's simply fascinating," Skylar said. " Really? Can you help me with some stuff?" Dick asked. " Sure, I'd love to," she replied and both of them walked over to the table, looking over the papers.

Bruce leaned on the wall, concentrating on both of them. Even though they just met the two of them connected instantly, chatting about history. Dick was telling her a joke while she was explaining something.

" She seems great, sir," Alfred said, appearing behind Bruce. " Yeah, she is," he replied. " Then what are you waiting for?" he asked, giving him a glare. Bruce sighed, sadly looking away from Skylar and Dick. 

" You know why, you don't need me to repeat it," he said. " She found at about the Bat, didn't she? And she's here bonding with the kid. Most of your fears are in your head Bruce, don't let them cloud your judgment. You've been alone a long time, doesn't hurt to let yourself be happy,"

Bruce didn't answer, everyone was saying the same thing to him. Clark learned what happened between him and Skylar through Lois, and he gave him the talk. Then Barry joined in, even though he didn't know the details Clark did, he practically gave him the same talk. How it doesn't hurt to let someone in and having Iris in his life made everything better. And now Alfred.

" Don't you think I want to?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms. " You've seen what happened the last time Joker got out, what will happen if he does it again? Or someone else breaks out? If she's in danger, you know that I'll choose her over everything, and I can't do that. The mission isn't that," he explained.

Alfred took a deep breath. " I am really tempted to slap some sense into you, sir," he sighed. " You are talking about an unknown future, where those events may or may not happen. But she's here, right now. Also, if your superhero friends can do it, you can too,"

Bruce didn't answer as his gaze shifted over to them again. Alfred patted his shoulder. " If you already know that you'll choose her, doesn't that already prove it?" he asked. Just as Alfred asked that, Skylar chuckled at something Dick said. One of her hand was on his shoulder and they were both laughing at something probably he said. 

" Yeah, thought so," Alfred mumbled, loud enough for Bruce to hear, then walked in. " Miss Jones, Master Grayson, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but the meal is ready," he said. " Oh, okay," Skylar said.

The dinner was delightful. Bruce maybe expected it to go a bit awkward, but no, everyone was getting along just fine. He was genuinely surprised about it. It felt like a dream to Bruce, it was too good to be true.

Seeing the people he cared about that way made him feel like, maybe for the first time since he was little, he really could get happy, that it was possible for him too. It helped him see what Clark, Barry and pretty much everyone in his life was telling what was possible, that he could have both.

But, just as the case was, every dream would eventually have to come to an end, and this one did too. Bruce's phone vibrated, alerting him something was happening downtown. He took out his phone to see that it was Killer Croc, attacking.

" What is it?" Dick asked, standing up. Bruce sighed, looking at him then to Skylar. She half nodded, as if she was telling him it's okay. " Killer Croc," he simply answered. He then turned to her. " I'm sorry, we have to go," he mumbled meanwhile Dick got out of the room, probably to go down to change.

" It's okay, I'll help Alfred clean up then I can go home," Skylar said. " Miss Jones, that's not necessary," Alfred joined in on the conversation. She looked at him. "Nonsense, you've prepared the food, the least I can do is help clean it up, plus, I won't take no for an answer,"

Alfred smiled then turned to Bruce. " Alright then," he said, leaving the room. Bruce took a deep breath, walking to Skylar. " Sorry, I didn't want things taking a turn this way," he said. Skylar smiled. " It's okay, I get it, it's your job," she replied.

Hearing her being supportive, not getting mad or freaking out, it settled something inside of Bruce.

" After I'll help Alfred I'll just go home," Skylar said. Bruce furrowed his brows, looking at her. He didn't want that. At that moment he didn't even want to leave her. " Or, you could stay," he said. She looked up to him. " What?" she asked, surprised. 

Bruce shrugged. " You could stay until I get back, if you want," he offered. "Really?" she asked, surprised. He nodded. "Okay," she mumbled.

It was around 3 AM when Bruce and Dick came back to the house. They were able to stop Killer Croc and then made sure he got locked up at Arkham. Then they went to patrol, as opposed to Dick's opposition because Bruce got a bit injured at the fight.

Croc was much stronger than the last time they saw him and he sure did some damage. He threw Bruce through a window, threw a trashcan at him and almost bit his head off if Robin didn't electrocute him at the last minute. 

They got out of the Batmobile. " Alfred, we need the first aid kit!" Dick shouted while helping Bruce walk to the stretcher. " I'm fine," he grunted as he sat down. " You're not," Dick answered. " I need to update the files," Bruce said.

Dick crossed his arms, giving him a look. " I'll do it," he replied. Then Alfred and Skylar entered the room. " Oh my god, Alfred, I expected something else when you said we were going to the Batcave," she exclaimed. 

" Batcave?" Bruce asked. Alfred shrugged as he got the kit and walked toward him. " It fits," Skylar said once she was done looking around and went down. " Done!" Dick yelled from the computer. 

Skylar eyed Bruce, mainly his body. He had taken his mask and shirt off and Alfred was tending to his wounds. " Do you always come back like this?" she asked. Bruce sighed. " Not really," he replied whereas Alfred rolled his eyes and Skylar giggled.

" Miss Jones, would you mind taking over for me?" Alfred asked after he was done taking out some glass pieces from Bruce's shoulder. Bruce gave him a look, he never did this. He didn't even allow Bruce to take care of his own injuries normally, what was he doing?

Skylar furrowed her brows, " Uh, okay," she said, taking a step. Alfred nodded, walking to Dick and patting his shoulder. " I need to make sure Master Grayson goes to bed," he said. The two quickly left the room and Bruce turned to Skylar.

" I think Alfred was mostly done, all I have to do is clean it up and bandage it, right?" she asked him. Bruce was too busy watching her and he forgot to answer. " Bruce?" she asked again and Bruce snapped out of it. " Yeah," he mumbled.

She smirked at him as she poured some alcohol to clean the wound. " This might hurt a bit," she said before pressing it on his shoulder. Bruce didn't even flinch. "I'm used to it," he replied after Skylar gave him a surprised look. 

" I guess this explains my question about the scars," she mumbled. " I thought your suit was supposed to protect you," she added. " It does," Bruce answered. " But it doesn't mean it protects me from everything, the threats change so I have to change my suit along with it, I'll be prepared next time," 

Skylar bit her lip as she finished cleaning the wound. She put the gauze down and took the bandage. " Next time? You sound so sure," she said, applying the bandage. Bruce nodded. " Yeah," he said, " There always is," 

The two didn't talk for a while, Skylar doing the same thing to a few more places. Then she noticed the little cut on his right cheek. " Oh, there's one more," she said, taking the gauze once more. " Wouldn't want it to leave a scar on this handsome face," she muttered.

Bruce couldn't help but smile as he watched her. She quickly cleaned the blood off of his face and seemed to focus on what she was doing. He then realized what Alfred was doing. He was giving them space.

" You're awake," Bruce said. Skylar shrugged faintly. " Yeah, I wanted to wait for you," she replied. " You didn't have to," he said. She smiled. " But I did," she said. Then she looked at Bruce's eyes. " Alfred told me a bit about who you went after, and I, I don't know, I guess I just wanted to see that you were alright," 

At that moment, something cleared inside Bruce. He always thought that he was a burden, his second life. That anyone who got too close to him would get hurt. He allowed Alfred and Dick in because Alfred was the only person who had been there for him his entire life and it was a way for Dick to live through his pain.

But Bruce never thought he could have someone else in his life, in all aspects. He had always been alone, the people he trusted and let in have always somehow let him down. However Skylar, she was different. She had accepted her. Fully. She had been there for him, supporting him. 

Maybe everyone else was right, Bruce could have it all. He could have Skylar. She was there, right under his nose, and there was no way anyone could hurt her. And if someone tried, he'd stop them with all he had. Maybe he could finally allow himself to be happy.

" I'm all in," Bruce said. Skylar was done with what she was doing, she was putting down the gauze when he said it. She looked up, her burrows furrowed. " What?" she asked. " Sky, I'm all in, I want you," he said.

" But what about all those things you said?" she asked. Bruce shrugged. " I don't care, I'll take care of it," he said. Skylar's face immediately lightened up, a big smile covering her face. Bruce put his hand to her waist, pulling her toward him and crashing his lips to hers.


	17. Seventeen

Two days later Skylar woke up next to Bruce. " Tell me you haven't been awake for long this time," she mumbled, turning over and laying on his chest. " It's been about ten minutes," he replied and she gave him a look. " Sure," 

" Anyway, how's the shoulder?" she asked. Bruce smiled. " It's good, don't worry," he said, leaning in and planting a kiss. They were kissing until his phone vibrated and he had to lean back with a sigh.

Skylar leaned on her elbow as she watched him. " Who is it this time?" she asked. Bruce was looking at his phone. " Shit," he muttered. He then turned to her. " It's Dick's school," he said. She furrowed her brows. " And?" 

" There's a parent-teacher conference today, they notified me but I must've forgotten with everything going on with the Leauge, and I have back to back meetings all day," he said. " I don't think I can re-arrange them," 

She bit her lip. " What about Alfred?" she asked. " He has some work to do today," Bruce answered. " Shit," he mumbled under his breath. Skylar sat up on the bed, facing Bruce. " Maybe I can go?"

" If someone needs to go and both you and Alfred are busy, I can go. I've got nothing to do today anyway," Skylar offered. Bruce was looking at her, shocked. " You would do that?" he asked. She nodded. " Why wouldn't I?"

Bruce half-smiled, leaning forward to kiss her. 

Two hours later Skylar was sitting inside Gotham Academy, dressed in what she thought was her most professional clothing. She was nervous. She had offered to come in Bruce's place because he seemed really bummed about not being able to attend, or there not being anyone else to attend.

Plus she liked the kid and since that she and Bruce had a thing going on, she wanted to get along with him. She acknowledged that Dick was a part of Bruce's life and she was not going to look over it. 

The bell rang and within a minute the place was crowded with students. They were all wearing uniforms and it was hard to find whom Skylar was looking for. She had been waiting with several other parents and now it was all a blur. 

" Skylar?" someone asked. She turned around and saw Dick looking at her. " Hey, kid," she greeted him with a smile. " Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked, taking a step toward her. She tried to smile. " Bruce had meetings, he couldn't get out of them and he told me Alfred had some things to do as well," she explained. He nodded, like he understood something.

" Cool," he said. " So I offered to come, hope it's not a problem," Skylar hesitantly said. Dick smiled. " Of course it isn't," he replied immediately. That made her smile. " Great, what do we do now?"

Dick shrugged as he started walking and Skylar followed him. " You gotta talk to my teachers, they'll tell you how amazing I'm doing and you'll be proud," he smirked. Skylar chuckled. " Kid, I was dragging my parents through these a couple of years ago, I know how these go by," she said.

" Then why are you dressed like a grandma?" he asked. She gasped but then burst into laughter. " Shut up, I didn't know what to wear," she said. " Obviously," he answered with a laugh and she ruffled his hair. 

After they were done Skylar took Dick to the mall. They ate burgers then moved on to milkshakes. " Ok, so your name is Dick, but what is it short for?" she asked him. He shrugged. " Richard, but it sounds like I am much older, so I don't really like it," he replied.

" Hm, do you know what your name means? And where it originates from?" Skylar asked him again, taking a sip from her strawberry milkshake. " No," he replied. " Well, it originates from two old Germanic words, Ric and Hard, which when you translate it means something along the lines of strong, brave leader," she explained.

Dick listened to her explain, occasionally drinking from his chocolate milkshake. " Wow, really?" he asked when she was finished. Skylar nodded. " I don't see myself as a leader," he replied. She frowned. " Why? I can see it happening kid, you've got what it takes," 

He shrugged. " I don't know," he mumbled. " But I do like the meaning though," he said with a smile. Skylar smiled back. "Anyway, change of topic, I loved going to the mall after school with my friends back in Central City," she said, sipping through her milkshake. 

" What do you usually do?" she followed up. He shrugged. " Go back to the house, mostly training along with homework," he replied. Skylar furrowed her brows. " What else? Don't you do anything with your friends?" 

When he didn't answer Skylar crossed her arms on your chest. " You do have friends, right?" she asked. Dick gave out a nervous laughter. " There's Barbara," he mumbled. " And what do you do with her?" 

" We hang out at the school, I guess, I don't know," he said. Skylar took a deep breath. " Kid, are you really telling me you are not living your teenage years without getting the fun out of it? No sleepovers, movie nights, hangouts?" she asked. 

Dick bit his lip. " Yes?" he asked nervously. She rolled her eyes. " Oh my god, the next thing you're gonna tell me you don't even read besides the classics," she mumbled. When he didn't answer she gasped. 

" Well, Bruce made me read the Art of War, does it count as a non-classic?" he asked. " Percy Jackson? The Hunger Games? Harry Potter?" she started listing. Dick shook his head. " I've seen the first two movies of the wizard boy," he mumbled. " That's unacceptable!" she fake gasped.

Skylar took the last sip of her milkshake then stood up. " Cmon, we're going," she said. " Where?" he asked, getting up and following her. " I'm getting you all of the Harry Potter books," she answered.

" You don't have to," he tried to protest. Skylar shook her head. " I want to, count it as my Christmas gift to you," she replied. " And I'm going to grill Bruce's ass for not making you do stuff a boy your age is supposed to do," she added.

Dick chuckled at her. " Now, that is something I want to see," he said. She playfully rolled her eyes. " Look, kid," she sighed, stopping and looking at him. " I don't know you that well, but I know that you had a hard past, but pain can't and shouldn't stop you from living your life. You're 12, you should act like your age a little more," she said.

He didn't answer as he eyed him. " I know we just met, and I know that I haven't been in Bruce's life for long, but I really care about him, and he cares about you. So, I want to get along with you. I already like you and I wouldn't want to see you looking back on these years in the future and regret it," 

Dick bit his lip after a while. " I like you too," he admitted. Skylar smiled. " Well, good," she replied, putting her arm on his shoulder and start walking. " You know, I'm really glad you came into our life," he said after they started walking toward the bookstore. 

" Me too," she replied, ruffling his hair. Dick smiled. " Just so you know, you're the only person I'm allowing to ruffle my hair, otherwise I'd hurt my charisma," he smirked, causing Skylar to chuckle. " Alright, mister," 

Bruce texted Skylar after his meetings where done. He wanted to know how the conference went, plus where Skylar and Dick were. He found from Alfred that he hadn't returned to the house yet. She told him they were at the mall and he said that he was going to pick them up.

Half an hour later his car was parked outside of the mall, waiting for them. Once they were out Dick quickly spotted the car, leading Skylar toward there. They were each holding a bag, containing the books she bought for him.

" Seems like you guys had a fun afternoon," Bruce said once they got inside. " Yeah, we did," Dick said, still drinking his milkshake. " Skylar bought me all of the Harry Potter books!" he said excitedly. 

With that, Skylar turned to Bruce and softly hit him. " I can't believe you never did! Or let him watch the movies!" she exclaimed. He smiled. " I'm sorry, I'll make sure he does from now on," he replied.

" Maybe we can have one of those 'movie marathons' you mentioned," Dick said. Skylar's face light up. " Oh yes! I'm already education this one here, we'll add you to the bunch as well," she replied, pointing at Bruce.

" Well, you know, when you don't have a 'thing'," she said. Bruce nodded. " Yeah, sounds good to me," he said. " Great, we're supposed to be free this Sunday, right?" Dick excitedly asked. " It's Christmas," Bruce answered. " So, I'm sure no bad guy would do something at Christmas, it's Christmas!" 

Bruce turned to Skylar. " What do you think?" he asked. Skylar shrugged. " I've got no plans," she replied. He nodded. " Alright then, I guess we're having a movie marathon," he said. " ' Harry Patter' you said?" he asked.

Skylar rolled her eyes as Dick chuckled. " Potter, it's Potter," she said. Dick patted her shoulder. " Muggles," he said to her. " I know, right?" Skylar said, the two sharing a laugh while Bruce watched them amused and a bit curious. 

" Anyway, tell me about the conference, how is he doing?" Bruce asked. " He is doing fine," Dick answered. Skylar smirked. " His teachers all say that he has improved a lot, especially since he first started," she said. " Just needs to work more on his essays a bit more," Skylar added. Dick huffed. " I know, I know, but at least I don't copy it from the internet anymore," he sighed. 

Bruce nodded. " That's good, I'm proud of you," he said. A smile both appeared on Skylar and Dick's faces. " Thanks," Dick replied.

On Christmas morning Skylar woke up happily. She had talked to her parents on the phone the day before, and she was glad to know that they had gone to a resort, just the two of them, having a romantic Christmas.

Bruce had also called her, wishing her a merry Christmas. The original plan was for him to come over but then something had happened, he didn't exactly give her any details, and he couldn't make it. 

Skylar spent the day before doing a little shopping. She had gathered that Christmas wasn't exactly celebrated at the Wayne Manor, but she wanted to change it. They were already doing a movie marathon, already gave gifts so the only thing left was to give some Christmas vibes.

So she had gotten out and got a classic Christmas sweater for all of them. She had one but she wanted it to match with the others. She had to guess both Bruce's and Alfred's sizes but she was hoping she made the right choice.

Alfred had already opened the door by the time the taxi entered the garden. Skylar was lucky to find a taxi on this day, but she wasn't questioning. " Good morning Alfred, merry Christmas!" Skylar exclaimed, hugging him.

" Merry Christmas Miss Jones," Alfred replied. " You seem to be in a good mood," he said. She nodded. " I am, it's Christmas!" she answered, walking inside. " They're in the living room, preparing the TV," Alfred said.

Skylar quickly walked there. When she entered the room she found Bruce kneeling in front of the TV, trying to sort out something with cables. Dick was standing next to him, giving him directions. " Merry Christmas!" she said.

Both of the boys turned to her. Dick came over and gave her a hug. " Merry Christmas Skylar!" he cheered. Meanwhile, Bruce had gotten up and slowly walked to them. He pulled her by the waist, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. " Merry Christmas," he said.

" What do you got in there?" Dick asked, pointing at the bag Skylar was holding. " Oh, since it's Christmas, I thought we should all get in the mood, so I got all of us some sweaters," she explained as she took them out and started handing them.

Then she turned to Alfred. " Don't worry, I didn't forget about you," she said as she gave it to him. Alfred seemed surprised. " Thank you, Miss Jones," he said. Skylar turned back to Dick and Bruce. Dick had already worn it. " I like it," he said with a smile. 

" I'm glad," Skylar said, ruffling his hair. Then she turned to Bruce. He was holding the sweater, looking at it intensely. " You ok?" she whispered to him. He looked up and gave a faint smile. " Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, " It's just been a while since we had some holiday spirits in here," 

She smiled, leaning on and giving him a kiss. " Good, get ready to have more around here," she said. 

Twenty minutes later they were all sitting at the couch in front of the big TV, getting ready to watch. Everyone was wearing their sweaters, which made Skylar very happy. Alfred had prepared some snacks for them.

" Are you sure you'd like me to be here? I can keep busy with the housework," Alfred said. Skylar shook her head. " No! Join us! Plus, the movies we're about to watch are from your homeland, you should be here," she argued.

Alfred gave a faint smile. " Alright, then," he replied. Dick sat between Skylar and Alfred after putting the movie in. " Skylar, what house are you in?" he asked. Bruce put his arm around Skylar, pulling her toward his chest. " Definitely Ravenclaw, you?" 

" Obviously Gryffindor!" he replied. She smiled. " Obviously?" she asked. Dick nodded. " Of course, can you imagine me being in somewhere else?" he asked. " No, I cannot," Skylar chuckled. " But if I was a ghost I'd definitely be like Peeves!" 

Skylar gave her a look. " Someone read the books," she commented. He nodded. " Yes, I started them the night you bought me. I'm already on Goblet of Fire," he said. She smiled proudly. " Good job," she said. 

" I feel like you are not speaking English," Bruce said. " Ghosts? What kind of movie are we watching?" he asked. Then the movie started, causing Skylar and Dick to shush him. " Fine, fine," he breathed out. " I guess I'll find out," 

A couple of hours later the group decided to take a break. They had just finished watching Goblet of Fire and they got hungry. Alfred left to prepare some food while Skylar was crying. " It gets me every time," she said.

" I know that I have just intentionally spoiled myself, but damn, I was not expecting that," Dick said, leaning back on the couch. " He killed Cedric!" he then exclaimed. " I know!" Skylar said. " I've seen it coming," Bruce said nonchalantly. 

Skylar and Dick both turned to him, glaring. " What? The minute they both teleported to that dark garden I figured they'd kill him, he shouldn't have been there but he was and he's collateral damage," he explained. " And they kept showing him as this sweet guy the whole movie, it was so easy," 

" It was not!" Skylar exclaimed. Bruce shrugged. " Party-pooper," she mumbled and Dick started chuckling. " Okay," Skylar said, sitting up and wiped her tears, " I think we should continue the movies after you're done reading them," she said.

Dick gave her a look. " Why?" he asked. " The plot thickens much after this one and the books are the better experience when everything is revealed," she replied. He nodded. " Alright, fair enough," 

" But what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" he followed up. Skylar shrugged. " I don't know," she said then turned to Bruce. " Do you have an idea?" she asked. " How do people usually spend Christmas?" he asked in return.

Skylar took a breath. " My parents and I usually played board games when it was just the three of us," she said. " Do you have any in here?" she asked. Bruce tilted his head. " I don't know, we should ask Alfred," he replied. " I'll ask," Dick said, getting up from the couch and starting to run.

She watched him disappear then turned to Bruce. " Thank you," Bruce said. Skylar furrowed her brows, looking at him curiously. " Why?" she asked. He shrugged. " For making this place feel like a home," he replied.

" I honestly don't know the last time I'd seen Dick this happy, and Alfred, and me, just, thank you in general," he said. Unintentionally her lips twirled up. " Your welcome," she said, sliding over the sofa and kissing him. 

Bruce put his hand on her waist, pulling her even closer. He was leaning back on the couch and with his movement, Skylar was laying on his lap. She tried to lean up but was stopped by the nose of the reindeer on his sweatshirt.

She couldn't help but giggle and that made her lean back. Eventually, Bruce smiled as well. " It looks good on you," she said playing with the red nose. She didn't know why but when she was out shopping and spotted the classic red and green sweatshirt with a reindeer and 3D nose on it, she had to get it for Bruce. 

" I look ridiculous," he replied with a chuckle. " Ridiculously hot," Skylar pointed out. " Sure," he said, rolling his eyes. " Honestly? I like it though," he said. She smiled. " Good," she said. " Cause you'll be wearing it until the next year," she smirked, quickly kissing him.

She meant for it to be a quick kiss, but he didn't let her leave, grabbing the back of her hand and disabling her from moving. " I don't mind it as long as I get to take yours off from you every night," he said between kisses. " Deal," Skylar mumbled, losing herself inside it.

" Since you mentioned next year," Bruce said, when they eventually break their kiss off. They both knew Dick and Alfred could come back at any moment and getting caught like that wouldn't be appropriate. " Barry is getting married in a few weeks," he said.

" Oh really? That's amazing!" Skylar said. Bruce nodded. " Yeah, and he invited me to the wedding. I was wondering if you'd be my date to it," he said. " I would love to," Skylar answered. 

After eating the food Alfred said they had Monopoly somewhere laying around. He and Dick went to find it much to Skylar and Dick's dismay about playing it against Bruce. When they left the room she turned to him.

" It won't be fair," she said. " I think it is," Bruce replied along with a smirk. " No, it isn't. You practically own one of the biggest corporations in the country, if not the whole world, and it is a game on business, tell me how that is fair," she pouted.

Bruce took a step toward her, putting his hands on her shoulder. " And you are a brilliant business student, whom I'm sure will excel once she graduates," he said, kissing her nose. " And like you said it's just a game," he added. Skylar couldn't help but chuckle at that. " Fine, but I'll go no mercy on your ass," she shot. " I wouldn't expect any less," he laughed. 

Then Dick ran into the room holding the game. " We found it!" he cheered. " Yay!" Skylar said, starting to set the table. They quickly put everything aside from the big table in the room and set up the game. 

" A moment of your time please," Alfred said, walking in holding a camera. " Since we're spending the holidays according to tradition, I believe it's only fair if we take a picture to remember it by," he said.

" That's a great idea!" Skylar cheered, walking to Alfred and taking the camera. Then she turned around and tried to find a spot to place the camera. The bookcase they were standing next to seemed nice so she walked over there, first assigning a timer then putting it on the shelf.

After that, she walked back to where the others were standing. She was standing between Bruce and Alfred. Dick was standing in front of Bruce and Skylar. Bruce's left hand was on Skylar's waist and she was half-hugging Dick, standing in front of her. 

" Okay, smile!" she cheered.


	18. Eighteen

" Okay, I packed a little bag, we're only staying for a night, right?" Skylar asked on the phone, talking to Bruce. " Yeah, I have to be here on Monday, so we have to head back on Sunday evening,"

She mumbled an okay as she looked over her bag, checking if something was missing. " I'll be downstairs in about ten minutes," Bruce said. " Okay," she replied, still evaluating the bag. It seemed like everything she'd need for a weekend was there.

When she went out ten minutes after her phone call with Bruce she couldn't spot the usual black car. But then a sportscar on the side of the road gave a quick horn.

Skylar turned to the car angrily, to shout back in case it was a catcall, but the window rolled down to reveal Bruce with a black sunglasses, smirking at her.

" No driver today?" she said when she walked toward the car. He tilted his head. " No," he said. " Alright then," she replied, walking to the other side and getting inside.

She put her bag between her legs, luckily it was a small one. Bruce started driving as soon as she closed the door. " Are we driving to Central City?" she asked.

" No," Bruce smiled, " Although this car can probably get us there faster than the usual, flying would get us there faster," he said. " Did you buy us tickets?" Skylar asked.

Then she took a deep breath. " Wait, let me guess, we're not flying the usual way," she said. Bruce chuckled. " Yeah," he said. " The flight takes about three hours, so it'll be around 3 when we land, then we'll have two hours to first get to the hotel then to the reception," he explained.

They went to the airport but rather than parking the car Bruce kept driving, through to the back of the airport and Skylar eyed him curiously. " Where are we going?" she asked. " VIP Section," he replied nonchalantly.

" You have a private jet?" Skylar exclaimed and not long after she said it a black jet came into view. " What am I saying, of course, you do," she sighed and Bruce chuckled. He then parked his car close to the jet and got out. She followed him.

He greeted the captain waiting for them then got inside of the jet. " Wow," she whispered, looking inside of it. It was luxurious, not that she expected anything less. " I've never flown in business let alone a private jet," she commented. " Well, get used to it," Bruce said, kissing her cheek and taking her bag away from her and putting it on one of the empty seats.

Twenty minutes later they were in the air. The hostess had given them drinks and snacks. " Wait, I've realized that you never told me how you know Barry," Skylar said, sipping from her drink. Bruce smirked, instead of giving an answer, and just gave her a look.

She gasped loudly once the realization hit her. " SHUT UP! NO!" she yelled. " I met The Flash? And he met ME?" she whispered, or tried to, to avoid the others on the plane from hearing it. " And I AM attending his wedding?" she continued.

Bruce kept on smirking. " Yes, yes, and yes Sky, you are," he replied. " Oh my god, I can't believe this," she exclaimed, internally fangirling for a moment. She was from Central City, Flash was her city's hero.

It was a big deal, plus, he had saved her life once. She didn't exactly remember how, but at a school trip Captain Boomerang decided to pay the museum they were visiting a trip, and Flash saved her and her friends from getting hurt.

" You're done?" Bruce asked after a while with an amused expression. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Yes," she mumbled. " Oh, so I guess that explains how Iris West always got the exclusive," she said. He nodded. " I suppose, they always give the exclusive to their girlfriends," he sighed.

Skylar furrowed her brows, " They?" she asked. Then she remembered the time Bruce said something along the lines of ' saving reporters in distress' and it clicked. " SHUT THE FUCK UP, REALLY?" she burst out.

Bruce calmly nodded his head, watching her freak out. " I met Superman?" She whisper yelled, and continued to freak out. " Yes, you did. They're coming to the wedding too, Lois says she can't wait to see you again. In fact, the whole Leauge will be there," he said.

" WHAT?" Skylar once again exclaimed. She put up one of her hands while the other one covered her face. " I need a moment to process all this," she sighed. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed, trying to digesting it all.

She then looked up to Bruce. " I've already met three people out of the seven and now I'm attending one of their weddings AND I will meet all of them?" she asked. He nodded. " Yes, and you're dating one of them, sweetheart, calm down," he said.

With that, perhaps it was because Bruce said that they were dating or because he called her sweetheart, but Skylar's heartbeat sped up and she smiled. She didn't answer but she got up, walked to his seat, they were sitting in two seats facing each other, sat in his lap and gave him a kiss.

His hands were around her body and he kissed her back. " Wait, I've got one more question," she said as she leaned back. " Is it okay for you to be telling me their secret identities? I mean, aren't they 'secret' for a reason?" she asked.

Bruce shrugged. " Lois knows, Iris knows, what makes you different from them?" he replied. " And I trust you to keep the secret," he added. Skylar smiled. " Thank you, and you can count on me," she said, giving him a kiss. 

Just like Bruce said they landed a little after 3 PM and went to the hotel they were supposed to stay at. Of course, Bruce had gotten the king suite at the most expensive hotel in town. Then they started getting ready.

Bruce had gone to take a shower meanwhile Skylar started doing her makeup and hair. She had picked a plain beige dress. It wasn't that much fancy. And since this wasn't a high-class event like Bruce usually attended, she thought it'd be fine.

" Are you done yet?" Bruce called out from the living room. " Just a minute!" Skylar replied from the bedroom. She was putting on a necklace. When she couldn't get the clipper she huffed. " Hey, can you put this on? I can't seem to do it," she sighed.

Then Skylar looked up to Bruce to see him gazing at her. " What?" she asked with a smirk. Bruce tilted his head. " Nothing, you just look beautiful," he answered. " Huh," Skylar huffed, " I guess what they say is true," she said.

Bruce furrowed his brows as he came over and took the necklace. " Hmm, what do they say?" he asked as Skylar turned around and slid her hair over her shoulder and Bruce put it on. She turned again, to face him. "That weddings gets people horny," she smirked.

He scoffed and then chuckled at her. He then quickly grabbed her waist, pulled her closer to him. " I don't need weddings, one look at you is enough," he whispered, his face millimeters apart from hers.

Skylar gulped, she knew he was doing it intentionally to tease her. " Then you clearly haven't seen yourself in a suit Mr.Wayne," she replied, running her hands through his tuxedo. " Mmm, is that it?" he replied in a low raspy voice, his right hand traveling down from her waist.

" We're going to be late," Skylar replied with a smile. " I don't really give a damn at the moment," Bruce said, finally closing the gap between them. Obviously, Skylar responded to the kiss. Then, with all of her willpower, she break it off, taking a step back. " It'd be rude, cmon, let's go," she said, her hand traveling down to his hand and connecting it.

Bruce sighed. " Fine, let's go," he mumbled, starting to walk. He had rented a car and a driver. He told the driver to wait for them downstairs and then take them to the wedding venue. " It's rush hour, we're not that far from the venue but if we mess around we'll definitely miss the ceremony," Skylar said.

" I'm sure it won't be that bad," Bruce replied once they got inside the elevator. Skylar scoffed. " It's so obvious you haven't lived here, the rush hour here is like hell," she said. " I've never heard Barry say that," he answered.

Skylar laughed. " Yeah, because you asked just the right guy about the rush hour," she said. He shrugged. " Yeah, not my finest moment I guess," he said and the elevator doors opened. They walked through the hall and to the door where the car was waiting for them.

But as soon as they walked out of the door the paparazzi appeared, taking their pictures and asking questions. " Mr.Wayne! Mr.Wayne! What are you doing in Central City? Is that your girlfriend?"

Bruce opened the car door for Skylar and once she got in he turned to the reporters. " Hello, I'm here to join an event, and yes, that is my girlfriend," he said and then got inside the car without anyone else asking any questions.

Skylar was watching him with a dropped jaw. " Did you just--" she started to say but he cut him off. " Yes," he said. " Sky, I told you, I'm all in, I won't hide you away," he added. She smiled in return.

The car ride took about half an hour, where they talked about Skylar's life in Central City. How she'd point out the places she knew and if she had memories there. " It's so weird, being back here, with you," she said.

" I can imagine, especially with the paparazzi," he replied. Skylar nodded then she gasped as the realization hit her. " Oh shit! That will get published right?" she asked. Bruce nodded. " My parents! They watch the stuff on TV, especially those lame gossip things, oh my, my mom's going to kill me,"

Bruce furrowed his brows. " Why, because you're dating me?" he asked. Skylar shook her head. " No, because I didn't tell her I was dating someone AND I came to Central City without letting her know," she said.

He nodded. " Oh, yeah, that might arise a problem," he said with a faint smile. " Okay, I'll give her a call in the morning, explaining it all," she sighed. Bruce chuckled as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. " Don't worry, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end,"

Bruce grabbed Skylar's hand when they were entering inside the venue. There were around fifty people, talking in groups. " I'm so excited," Skylar whispered to Bruce. But before Bruce could reply someone called his name.

" My man! How's it going?" A tall man came over toward them. " And who's this beautiful lady?" he asked, taking Skylar's hand and kissing it. " This is Skylar, Hal," Bruce pouted. " Oh, OH! Hi, nice to meet you," he said with a smile.

Skylar smiled at him. " Hi, nice to meet you," she said. " Let me tell you, I'm so glad to see you exist, because I haven't believed a word the others said," Hal said with a smirk. Bruce took a deep breath and Skylar watched the two men.

" Hal," Bruce started but Skylar shushed him. " What do the others said about me?" she asked curiously. " Ah, I'm so glad you asked," he replied, still smirking. " Jordan, stop making Bruce mad," someone else joined in.

It was Lois. " Lois!" Skylar exclaimed, going in for a hug. " Hi, girl!" she greeted, hugging her back. " To be continued," Hal said. " Anyway, I gotta go find my date, see you guys later," he added, walking away.

" That was eccentric," Skylar commented. " You get use to it after a while," Clark sighed, walking behind Lois. Skylar looked at him in awe, trying to picture him without his glasses and in the superman suit.

It must've been a while because Lois furrowed her brows, looking at Bruce. " What's going on?" she asked. Bruce shrugged. " She knows," he replied. " OH! Yeah, okay I get it," Lois replied with a smile.

" Sorry, I'm sorry, it's just," Skylar started to mumble but Clark chuckled, making her stuff. " It's okay, I'm used to it," he replied. " Okay, Clark, honey, why don't we go get some drinks while Skylar gets it together?" Lois asked.

The couple left and Skylar took a deep breath, turning to Bruce. He had an amused expression on his face. " Am I embarrassing you in front of your friends?" she asked. Bruce smirked. " I don't think so, I am quite fond of watching you freak out actually," he replied.

She rolled her eyes. " Haha, very funny," she pouted. Then Bruce started to say something but Skylar didn't hear it, her attention being focused on the woman walking toward them. She was tall, muscular and had jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a gorgeous black dress.

" Hello, Bruce, and you must be Skylar," the woman said with a smile. " And I'm," she started but Skylar cut her off. " You're Diana, I know, hi, I'm a big fan, I love you, sorry, I'm rambling, you're my biggest idol," She mumbled.

Diana chuckled. " That's quite alright, nice to meet you," she said. Skylar couldn't help but smile. Wonder Woman was her favorite, she loved her. And meeting her was a dream come true. " Nice to meet you too," she muttered.

" I bumped into Hal, he told me you two arrived. I just came over to introduce myself," Diana said. " Did he now?" Bruce asked. Diana shrugged. " Are you surprised?" she asked in return. " Frankly, no," he said.

Skylar was watching the two interact in awe. " Ah, so you guys met," Clark said, rejoining the conversation. Both he and Lois were holding drinks. " Yes," Diana said. " So everyone's here?" Lois asked.

" Yeah, pretty much, I saw Jonn talking to Oliver," Clark replied. But then a short, young guy with red hair walked to them. " Hi, sorry to interrupt, the Ceremony is about to start so we need everyone to go into that room," he said as he pointed somewhere.

The group collectively started walking there. Lois grabbed Skylar's arm, pulling her behind the group and smirking. " I've got you cornered, you're telling me everything," she said. Skylar smiled. " Okay, okay," she answered.

The ceremony was beautiful and after everyone moved on to the dinner. There were round tables around the stage. Skylar and Bruce were seated along with Clark, Lois, Diana, Hal Jordan, his date, a man named John or Jonn- Skylar couldn't make it out, and two other people. She hadn't come across them yet so she didn't know.

Everyone at the table was having chats as smaller groups when Skylar realized a couple heading their way. " Wait, is that, Oliver Queen?" Skylar whispered to Bruce. He nodded. " Yeah, he and Barry are friends," he replied.

" Good evening everyone, how's everyone doing?" Oliver asked, sitting at the table. " Good, how about you man?" Hal replied. " Same old, still can't believe the idiot convinced Iris to marry him," Oliver said.

Hal chuckled in return. " I know right?" he laughed. " It is a joyous union, is it not?" John asked the table. " It is man, we're just kidding," Hal replied, patting John's shoulder. " I must say," Oliver sighed, leaning on his chair, " It is refreshing and a bit weird to see you guys out of work,"

" Where's fishman, by the way?" he asked. " He couldn't make it, some family stuff," Clark answered. " He sends his best though," he added. Diana turned to Lois and Skylar. " Do you see my point when I say I work with children?" she asked to them with a smile.

Lois giggled and nodded at her meanwhile Skylar was just surprised. She never thought to see the heroes she knew interact like this. When she thought about it, it seemed normal, they were people too. But since they never got to see this side of them, it came strange to her. She tried to shake the feeling off, to join the conversation.

" By the way, sorry Wayne, I rented the penthouse, I hope it's not a problem," Oliver smirked at Bruce. He smirked in return. " Of course not, I had already rented the King's Suite, Queen," he replied. Hal cackled. " Man, I love it when those two get it on with each other," he said.

Skylar was watching the interaction when Lois tapped her arm. " Come to the toilet with me?" she asked. Skylar nodded, both women getting up. Once they were far enough Lois turned to her. " How does it feel?" she asked.

" How does what feel?" Skylar asked in return. Lois shrugged. "You know, knowing the whole 'thing'. You're reacting better than I thought you were," she said. Skylar furrowed her brows. " How did you expect me to react?" she asked in return.

" I don't know, but you're certainly calmer than Iris, apparently she didn't believe at Barry at first, laughed it off," she said. " Oh," Skylar mumbled. " I mean, it's strange. Like, I never thought I'd be here, you know? I see and hear about them all the time, from TV and stuff, but being in their real life, it surely feels unreal,"

Lois nodded. " I know, but you were so funny to watch when Clark first came, I swear I wanted to take a picture of your face," she laughed. Skylar playfully rolled her eyes. " Can you blame me? This is huge for an ordinary girl for me," she said.

" I suppose you're right, doesn't change the fact that it's funny though," she replied. " Bruce says the same thing!" Skylar said, causing Lois to laugh. " Since you mentioned Bruce," she smirked sinisterly and Skylar blushed. " Are you two properly dating now?"

Skylar nodded. " Yeah, we do," she replied. " He introduced me to Dick, and we seem to be hitting off," she added. " Oh wow, that's certainly a big step," Lois said. " Bruce might really take this seriously,"

" You think so?" Skylar asked. Lois was washing her hands, she had gone into the toilet while they were talking, and she gave her a look from the mirror. " Are you serious? Don't you the way he acts around you? He never seems this lively normally, " Lois said. She couldn't help but smile in return. " It's nice to hear that, really," she replied.

The rest of the night went by nicely. Barry and his wife, Iris, came over to their table. Skylar met and congratulated both of them. And they thanked everyone for coming. Hal said something remotely inappropriate, causing his date to shush him and Diana lightly hitting his head.

Other than that Skylar got a chance to talk to everyone. After their talks, it really helped her to not freak out and see them as the people that they were and get to know them. Normal people along with secret identities who saved the world every day.

At the end of the night, after pretty much everyone left, Bruce and Skyler were outside of the venue, waiting for the driver. " It was a fun night, thank you," she said. Bruce smiled. " Your welcome," he replied.

" Although I must admit, I am a bit hurt," he said seriously. Skylar furrowed her brows, looking at him in fear. Had she done something wrong? What was it? " I thought I was your favorite," he pouted and Skylar took a deep breath, relaxing.

Bruce smirked. " I am deeply hurt," he added. and Skylar rolled her eyes. " You scared me!" she exclaimed, hitting him. " And sorry, but sadly you're not my favorite out of the league," she replied. Bruce fake scoffed, pouting.

" Dude, I'm sorry, you're cool and all, but it's Wonder Woman, she's fucking badass and she's my idol," Skylar said, crossing her arms on her chest. " By the way, can we talk about the fact that there's only one woman on the whole league? What? You've run out of female badass heroes?" she shot.

Bruce sighed. " You know, it's like I'm hearing Diana right now, you two are sometimes too similar," he said. Skylar shrugged and he smiled. " And I guess I can handle not being your favorite, as long as I'm number two?"

Skylar smiled, kissing his cheek. " Of course dummy," she replied. Then the car appeared at the start of the street, coming toward them. " Then maybe you can elaborate on ' how cool I am and all'," Bruce smirked, opening the door.

They both got in. The car was a limousine and it had this thing Skylar seen on TV. Where you could press a button and the driver could no longer see or hear you. She clicked on it with a smirk, turning to Bruce. " I have a better idea," she whispered, sliding over to him and kissing him.

She could feel Bruce's smile through the kiss, he probably had been waiting for this ever since the hotel, and it wasn't long before she was sitting on his lap, taking off his jacket.

Then, suddenly, Skylar felt herself move, floating and then crashing.

She had hit the door and then fell to the seats. Someone had crashed their vehicle into them. When she opened her eyes, both sides of the car's door was being opened. She quickly turned to Bruce. " Bruce, what's going on?" she tried to ask, but someone grabbed her leg, pulling her out.

" Bruce!" She yelled and Bruce leaned forward, trying to catch her but she had fallen out of the car. Bruce turned around, to get out of the car but was met with a gun to his face. Meanwhile, the guy who pulled Skylar out grabbed her, making her walk to another vehicle.

" Skylar!" he shouted and trying to move but the guy holding a gun to him stopped him. " If you want to live rich guy, stop and don't put your nose to where it belongs. I'm sure you can find another company for tonight," the guy spat at him.

Skylar tried to move, to maybe, hopefully, get out of the man's arms and run to Bruce. She kind understood why Bruce wasn't batmaning out right now, to keep his identity hidden, but she was hoping he'd do something to save her.

So, to buy her time she bit the guy's arm as hard as she could. The man yelled out in pain and for a brief moment, Skylar was free. She tried to run but the guy grabbed her by her hair, pulling her back. " OW!" she yelled out in pain.

" You bitch!" The man yelled, throwing a punch hard as he can. Then Skylar's eyes closed and she felt her body fall to the ground.


	19. Nineteen

Skylar woke up. Her head was pounding. She tried to move but her hands were tied. She looked up and saw that her hands were tied down from the ceiling. It was a dim room, a bit cold. She turned her head, trying to look around, to maybe find a way to get out of there.

" Miss Jones, so wonderful of you to join us," A familiar voice said. She knew that voice, dreaded it even. Then, she spotted the male figure coming toward her from the corner of the room. It was Roy, Roy fucking Hawkins.

" You should be in jail," she spat. Roy chuckled. " I was, and now I'm out," he said, getting closer to her. He smiled sinisterly. " It seems you haven't learned any respect," he pouted, grabbing her chin, making her look at him.

He didn't look different, except for the evil look on his face. " I guess I'll just have to teach it to you," he mumbled, his hands traveling down from Skylar's body. It was then she realized the dress she had on was no longer there, she was tied up in her underwear. " Properly," he whispered, touching her.

" Get your filthy hands off of me, you pig!" she exclaimed, trying to move to get away from him. Instead, she felt the back of his other hand slap her on her cheek. " Rule one, speak with respect," he said.

Skylar smirked. " To you? Never," she said, spitting on his face. Roy sighed. then wiped his face. " That was strike two," he said calmly then slapped her as hard as he can, again. Her face was aching, she could even feel a little bleeding.

" Huh," Roy huffed, " It seems the traditional way isn't enough to teach you, I'll just have to improvise," he smirked, walking away from her, to a counter on the side of the wall, and grabbing something. " Guess this'll have to do," he said, turning on the taser.

Skylar didn't know how long it had been, but she was exhausted. Roy had been torturing and slapping her for some time now. She wanted to close her eyes, to at least take a breather, but he wasn't allowing her. All she could do was now to pray that Bruce could find her, and fast.

" Why?" she breathed out. " Hmm?" Roy asked, taking a step back and looking at her. " I paid you your money, you went to jail, why are you still after me?" Skylar managed to say, then looked at his eyes. " Why?"

Roy smirked. " Oh, Miss Jones, so coy and naive," he chuckled. He then caressed her cheek. " Did you really think I kept my eye on for you for money?" he asked. Skylar furrowed her brows, " Then why?"

" Oh, Skylar," Roy taunted, " Do you think someone like you could mess up one of our operations for real? Cost us money? Why don't you really try to remember what really happened?" he asked.

She sighed, the memories filling her in. It was the end of the finals of her second year, and her friends had convinced her to go to this party. They drank way too much and then decided to play truth or dare. One of the guys dared her to trespass to this rich guy's house, she got caught, the police had arrived, chasing her.

While she and her friends were running from the police, the same guy who dared her also told everyone to run, Skylar had accidentally led the police to where Roy was making a deal with some criminals. Roy had seen her face and then he went after her the next day, telling her she owed them money.

" I was drunk, I led the police to you and I got caught," she answered. Roy laughed. " Then how was I able to find you the very next day, if the police had caught me? Did you ever think about that?"

She shook her head. As he spoke, her memories started to fade away, as if they were dreams and didn't really happen. She gasped. " Why can't I remember? What did you do to me?" she yelled in fear.

" Because it was something we planted in your memory, to keep you close. You see, I couldn't let you get away. With your importance, and that face of yours," Roy said, grabbing her face and petting it, " So I decided to make a false play in order to keep you close until your time came,"

" I really do hope I succeed in making you what they want, so that all my efforts wouldn't have been only for my pleasures," he smirked. Skylar was now really starting to get afraid, what did this all mean? He had planted memories in her brain? To keep on eye on her, for what? What did her time coming meant? What did they want out of her?

Roy took a deep breath. " But it seems like my methods are not working, so I might need to get a little more creative," he smirked sinisterly once again, putting down the taser and slowly walking back to her.

Suddenly he grabbed Skylar's neck with both of his hands, choking her. She tried to fight, to breathe but it was no use. A burning sensation started to appear from her chest. " You are just a worthless ploy in a bigger game here, and you better try to succeed otherwise I swear I'll make you regret it," he hissed.

Her body started to shake, trying to grasp free out of his hands, to breathe, but she couldn't, he was too strong, and with the lack of oxygen along with all the torture, her body just wasn't strong enough. The burning reached her throat and it all started to go down to her arms and legs.

Meanwhile, he kept on shouting at her, insulting her. Tears had started to come out of Skylar's eyes unintentionally, she was trying to do everything she could, but it was no use. She was defeated. She was probably going to die.

Then she felt the sense of burning reach her entire body, it felt like she was on fire. Her heartbeat had sped up against everything happening to her body, she could feel it beating in her ears. " Enough!" She growled, feeling her body explode.

When Skylar opened her eyes again, Roy had fallen to the floor, looking at her in awe and satisfaction. She looked around to see that her hands were free. The ropes that were holding her were burned down. And her hands were on fire. To put it better, her whole body was on fire.

" Yes, I knew it!" Roy cheered, getting up. Skylar looked at herself and then to him. " What did you to me?" she yelled. " I've simply completed my task," he smirked, taking a step toward her. " Don't come any closer!" she exclaimed.

Roy gave out a small chuckle. " I own you, remember?" he asked, quickly taking something out of his pocket and putting it around Skylar's neck. With the thing around her, the flames around her body extinguished. " What did you do?" she screamed. She didn't get an answer, instead, Roy bashed her head with something and she fell unconscious, once again. 

The next time Skylar woke up she was in a cell. It was a small one with glass doors. When she looked out there were other cells, just like the one she was in, and she could count at least ten other people in there.

Thankfully, she was no longer in her underwear. She was wearing a jumper like clothing, much like a prisoner. Then she realized the 'accessory' on her neck. It was metal and felt like a leash. It had a light blue light on it. She tried to get it off.

" Don't try, you'll get nowhere," someone said. Skylar furrowed her brows, looking around to possibly find where the voice was coming from. Except for the glass door, every surface was metal. " I'm up here," the voice said again.

Skylar looked up. The ceiling was a grill, making her see him and vice versa. " What's this?" she asked, pointing at the collar. " They call it an Inhibitor Collar, disables you from using your powers," he explained.

" My powers?" she asked again. The guy sighed. " You're a meta, and with the collar on, you can't use your meta powers," he said. " I don't understand," Skylar mumbled. " Then try to figure it out silently, new girl," he spat, sitting down.

She looked up, trying to see his face. He seemed familiar, somehow. He had brown hair, fair skin. He looked like anyone else you'd come across the street, but no, Skylar knew it, she had seen him before.

" Wait," she gasped, " I know you!" she exclaimed. " I doubt it," he muttered. " No, I do! We interned at LexCorp together, didn't we? Ugh, Greg? George?" She asked. " Gavin," he sighed. " Yeah, you were the girl from MU, right?" he asked.

Skylar nodded. "Yes, now that we recognized each other, can you answer my question? What's going on? How long have you been here?" she asked. Gavin got on his knees, leaning on to the grill. " What month is it?" he asked.

" One week away from February," she replied. He pouted. " Then about four months," he answered. " Then, can you tell me what's all this? If you've been here for four months, you surely must know at least a bit of what's going on," Skylar said.

He sighed. " Fine, I've heard that Lex Luthor secretly tests everyone who works for him for the meta-gene. The ones who test positive, one by one, get kidnapped. They torture us enough to trigger our genes, causing it to activate. Then they put this collar on us to keep us contained until we will be of use to them," he explained.

" Lex Luthor? He's on the top of all this?" Skylar asked in shock. Gavin shrugged. " I don't know, that's what I've heard, I recognize some faces from the company but the others, I don't, if you ask me, there are at least a few more people on it,"

Roy, he was here. He worked for Mandragora, and he followed him like a lost puppy, at least that's what Bruce told her. If he was here, that meant Mandragora was in on it too, Gavin was right, this included more than one bad guy.

This explained why he wanted to keep an eye on her as he put it. It was a sick game for him, while he was keeping tabs on a potential meta-human he got to harass her. That fucking bastard!

" So, what's your power?" she asked. " What's yours?" he asked back. " I asked first," she replied. He rolled his eyes. " I shoot lighting out of my hands, happy?" he spat. Skylar smiled. " It was for a few seconds but I was on fire," she said.

Gavin tilted his head. " Okay," he said. " I hope for your sake it keeps you safe," he added. Skylar looked at him confused once again. " And why is that?" she asked. " They, whoever they are, are kidnapping and purposely letting people activate their meta-genes, and put a collar on us to control us, gee, why do you think so?"

" You're saying that they want to use us?" she asked. " Duh," he replied. " Why else would they do it? Because the world needs more people with superpowers? They want us to fight the existing ones, be their soldiers while they get what they want,"

" Now that you know the whole story, can you shut up? My head is pounding like crazy and I want to relax," he spat. " Fine, fine, I'll leave you alone," she replied, sitting down herself.

This was crazy, it fucking was. Everything had been a lie, a game. Whatever 'they' wanted, they were going to use Skylar and people like her for their own benefits. It was not fair. She had never wanted this, to be pulled to this. She never wanted powers, let alone be someone's soldier.

She sighed, leaning on her legs and wishing Bruce could find her as soon as possible.


	20. Twenty

The guy was holding a gun to Bruce. He had spotted Skylar being held by a larger man in the corner of his eye. " If you don't want this to get ugly, I suggest you let the lady go and fuck off," Bruce spat.

The guy smirked. " I don't think so tough guy, what are you going to do? Give me money to let her go? No chance," he replied. Bruce sighed, taking a step toward him. He couldn't do his usual gig, it'd draw too much attention but he was not going to let some strangers kidnap Skylar.

Quickly he hit the guy's arm, causing him to drop his gun. He seemed surprised at the action but recovered fastly, going in to punch Bruce. He avoided it and threw another in response. His back was now turned to Skylar and the guy holding her.

" Was that enough or do you want more?" he taunted. The guy spat blood to the floor. " I didn't think this was how it was going to go down, but fine, let's go, man," he responded. He went at Bruce and two started sparring.

Within a minute the guy was on the floor and Bruce was beating the shit out of him. But then something hit Bruce's head, causing him to fall to his side. The guy he was beating quickly got up. " Cmon! Let's go," he exclaimed, pulling the larger guy.

The two raced to the same vehicle, getting in and speeding away. Bruce got up, trying to read the license of the vehicle. He then took a deep breath and rushed to the car, to see how the driver was doing. He had passed out but still had a pulse.

He took out his phone and called 911, informing them about the accident and then he ended the call, looking around. He spotted a dark valley and ran there. Once he was out of sight, he put on his earpiece and teleported to the Watchtower. " This is Batman, I need everyone who's available to come in, now," he spat. Then he went to the computer they had there, trying to search the plate.

" Man, what the fuck? This better be important," Hal said, teleporting in. Bruce didn't answer as he kept on looking at the files. " What's going on?" Clark asked, joining in. " The fuck I know, he's not answering," Hal spat.

Clark sighed, walking over to Bruce. " What the hell happened to you?" he asked once he got close enough to see him. " Yeah, shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?" Hal taunted. Bruce sighed.

" Someone kidnapped her," he replied. " Someone kidnapped Skylar?" Diana asked entering the room. Then the system alerted Bruce. The vehicle that hit them was a stolen one, not that Bruce expected anything less. He started looking through the video footage, of the direction they went off too.

As he automated the system to look for the car he got up, facing the rest of the Leauge who were there. " We were going back to the hotel, someone hit us. Two guys. One of them hit my head, gaining time to run away," he explained.

" But why would anyone try to kidnap your girlfriend?" Hal asked. " Maybe to ask him for money? Didn't you publicize your relationship?" Diana asked, causing Bruce to remember the paparazzi when they were leaving the hotel.

He shook his head. " I don't know, the men didn't seem that interested in me," he replied. " I bet that's the first time you're experiencing that," Hal smirked, and everyone turned to him to give a glare.

" Maybe it was just to top you off of your game, they could call you for it later on," Diana suggested. " Actually," Clark sighed, " I might know why," he said. Bruce turned to him, furrowing his brows. " Enlighten us then,"

Clark crossed his arms. " Remember a few months ago you said all the people who were kidnapped when our cities were attacked tested positive for the meta-gene? And the reason we know was because that they were all employers of Lex, and he had them tested secretly?" he asked.

Bruce nodded. " What's got to do with Skylar?" he said. Clark shrugged. " The dinner we all had? She said that back in Metropolis she interned there for a month, I'm sure Lex didn't miss that opportunity,"

" Let us check, then, Bruce, do you have the system here as well?" Diana asked. Bruce didn't answer, he was already on his way back to the computer. He quickly entered the system, looking for Skylar's file.

Clark, Diana, and Hal walked toward the screen, looking at it. " Huh, what do you know? She tested positive," Hal mumbled. " So I guess this explains it," Diana said. " What do we do now?" Clark asked.

" We need to find her," Bruce answered. " How?" Hal asked. " We weren't able to find the others, our, no, your plan wasn't this, how do you plan to do it?" Hal spat. Bruce took a deep breath. "Because now it got personal," he shot back.

Bruce then turned to them. " It was a black van, the right front corner is smashed due to the crash. I need you three to go over the city, try to spot it. I'm looking through the surveillance," he said. " What? It's a big city!" Hal argued.

" Then it's better if you start now," Bruce spat. Hal opened his mouth to say something but Diana patted his shoulder, shushing him. " Okay, we'll let you know if we find something," she replied, pulling Hal away.

Clark was still standing there. " Why didn't you tell me before?" Bruce asked. Clark sighed. " I thought you knew, that she told you," he replied. " We'll find her, don't worry," he said, putting his hand on Bruce's shoulder.

" And maybe through her, we can uncover everything going on, it'll be a bonus," he added, trying to sound optimistic. " Yeah, sure," Bruce muttered. Clark stood there for a while, debating something to say, but then he decided against it. " I'll let you know if I find something," he said before teleporting away. 

Four hours had passed, the sun was almost up, and no one was able to find anything. Bruce had gone back to Gotham, put on his suit and came back to the Watchtower. He was still trying to find the van from the cameras, but he couldn't.

" Has anyone found anything?" Clark asked through the intercom. " Negative," Diana responded. Bruce sighed, how could this happen? How could two ordinary guys with a pretty spottable van vanish?

" Wait, I think I found something," Hal said. " Bats, was this the van?" he asked and shortly after an image opened up on the screen. Bruce looked at it closely. The license plate was split, it only had a few figures on it and it was the same.

The right corner was smashed, the color was the same. It seemed to be that one. " Yes," Bruce replied. " Where are you?" he asked. " I'm in a parking lot, not far from the crash, they must've swapped cars," Hal replied.

Bruce sighed. " Okay, I'll try to track the cars that left the lot during that time," he replied, trying to find the surveillance. After a few minutes, he managed to find one CCTV, looking directly at the exit of the lot.

During the time of the kidnapping, six cars had left the lot. Bruce froze the image on all of them, zooming in on the drivers to try to see if it was the same two guys. The first four weren't them but the last two had left the lot back to back, and the last one was that two guys.

After getting the new plate number of the car he put it into the system, to see where they went. Meanwhile, he started to find the identities of the men who kidnapped Skylar. They were both documented criminals. And men of Mandragora.

" What did you find?" Diana asked, walking toward Bruce. " Where are the others?" Bruce asked. " They both have jobs in a few hours you know, it's Monday," she replied. " Didn't you say you had meetings today?" she asked.

Bruce shrugged. " I'll ask my assistant to reschedule," he said. " Bruce, no, we don't have anything at the moment, don't set your work aside, I'll stay here and look for more clues, Jonn will join me soon, you should go,"

" We have something, they swapped cars, I'm tracking it at the moment," he replied. " You are waiting, just go, I promise I'll let you know when it finds something," she said. Bruce sighed. " Fine," he spat, getting up.

Bruce went on with his day, he hadn't received a word from anyone and he was also constantly checking the system in case they didn't inform him. As his last meeting ended he sighed, walking to his office and taking out his phone.

He called Diana. " Status report?" he asked. " Okay, Bruce, don't get mad," Diana started, " The system picked up where the car was, so Jonn and I paid a visit there. It was a warehouse, we found five men, two of them fit the description you gave us,"

" And?" Bruce asked. He was mad that they didn't inform him but he wanted to know what happened more. " She wasn't there, in fact, none of the people who got kidnapped were there," she said.

Bruce sighed. " Where are the men?" he asked. " We turned them over to the Central City Police Department," she replied. He didn't say anything else, ending the call, grabbing his stuff and storming out of the office. He was going to interrogate them himself.

About an hour later he was in Central City, inside the Police Department. He had called Barry on the way, asking him to set up an 'interview' with the men and Batman. Barry asked why but he didn't answer, the guy was on his honeymoon, he didn't need to be pulled into this now.

The two men were together in the same cell, at the end of the hall, giving Bruce the opportunity to interrogate them without being seen by others. He flicked the lights off and on, signaling the men that he was coming for them.

He opened the door, stepping in. The men shot up to their feet when they spotted him. " Fuck," the smaller one spat. " You work for Mandragora," Batman said. " Why do you kidnap ex-employers of LexCorp?"

" Why should we give you what you want?" The larger one, who grabbed Skylar, asked. Bruce wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of him, but he needed to get them to talk. So, instead, he stepped forward, giving him his classic glare.

The smaller one looked scared enough. " Boss' orders, they work together," he replied. " Where do you take the people you kidnap?" Batman asked. The larger man patted on the smaller one's shoulder and sat down. He looked up to Bruce. " I don't answer to you Bat," he spat.

" We'll see about that," Bruce muttered, quickly walking toward him, grabbing the collars of his shirt and throwing him against the wall roughly. " Where are they being kept?" he asked again. The guy started to breathe fastly, his eyes covered in fear.

" We don't know, we don't know!" he yelled. " Our job is to take them to secure location, from there another team brings them to wherever they are being kept, let him go!" The other guy blurted out, taking a step toward Bruce.

Batman turned to the other guy then back to the man he was holding. " Well, that wasn't so hard now right?" he taunted, letting to of him. The smaller guy walked to his friend, checking to see if he was alright. Bruce looked at them one more time then left.

There was an another car who left the parking lot right before them, this must mean that Skylar was inside that car, possibly with other people. He needed to track down that one. He went back to the Watchtower to do just that.

The sun was setting when Bruce found where the other car was. It was outside of Central City, an empty factory. When he looked into it he found out that the grounds belonged to one of the corporations of LexCorp.

What was really interesting to Bruce and pretty much confirmed Lex's involvement was that he normally didn't have any properties in Central City, he preferred much bigger cities. So it confirmed that he had only bought that place to contain the people he had kidnapped.

" I've found the location of the kidnapped people, it's an empty factory outside of Central City. I need everyone available to come in for a rescue operation," Bruce said into the intercom. He was very well aware that he could do it by himself, but this was a Leauge mission in the first place and he had to include the others.

Following the ten minutes, Clark, Diana, Jonn, and Oliver showed up. " What's the plan?" Clark asked. " We need to get everyone there under control so that they don't tip off their bosses. We interrogate them, find out what their plan is. Meanwhile, we safely transfer the people there to S.T.A.R. Labs to control their powers," Bruce explained.

Then they went outside of the factory. " Arrow, you're with me. Jonn, you make sure no one escapes. You two find the kidnapped people," Bruce said, pointing at Clark and Diana at the end. Everyone nodded, parting into three groups and going in.

Oliver and Bruce went inside, specifically where chatter was coming from. He peeked inside and counted ten men. He then turned to Oliver, mouthing the number. Right when they were about to go in, he stopped with the voice he heard.

" I know, that chick is such a treasure, what I wouldn't do for the boss to let me have my proper fun with her," the voice said. " Hawkins," Bruce muttered. He didn't know if he was talking about Skylar or not, but he got angry.

He took out one of his fog bombs, throwing it inside the room. When it got off, they heard movement and voices of a sheer panic. " Now," Bruce said, jumping inside the room. Green Arrow followed him.

Two men started to run toward Bruce. The faster of the two tried to punch him. He avoided it, grabbed his arm and threw him to the other guy. They both fell to the floor while Bruce turned toward another one.

This one had a knife. He tried to stab Bruce a couple of times, him avoiding it every time. He finally kicked his hand causing the knife to fall. This time the guy tried to go down, grabbing Bruce's waist and trying to throw him. Bruce held on to his body, jumping and rolling in mid-air and ending up on the guy's shoulder, knocking him down.

He looked over to see that Oliver had taken care of two and was now handling the remaining two. There was only one guy left. Hawkins. Bruce started to look around, to see where he was. Then he found him behind one of the counters with a phone.

He grabbed the phone quickly, looking at the screen. Texts between someone saved as 'Boss' was open and he had typed ' league is here, send help'. Luckily he didn't press send. Bruce put the phone to his pocket, grabbing Hawkins.

" Hawkins, what do you say you and me have a little bit of 'proper fun' eh?" Batman spat. Roy looked at him in fear. " You can start by telling how you escaped from prison," Bruce added causing him to gulp.

Bruce threw him to the ground. " No answer? Works for me either way," he said as he took a step toward him. " Mandragora, he had me swapped while I was being transferred," Roy spoke up, his words trembling.

" I'm done!" Green Arrow yelled. Bruce sighed, grabbing Roy and pulling him to the middle. Oliver was pulling the other men toward there, making them sit in a circle in the ground to tie them up. " We're about to interrogate, how are you doing?" he asked into the intercom.

" Searching the building, I have found a young man tied up and someone torturing him," Jonn said. " We're looking for the rest of the people," Diana said. Bruce turned to Roy, he was the only one awake.

He kneeled in front of him. " Where do you keep the hostages?" he asked. Roy gulped again, looking between Batman and Green Arrow. " Basement storage," he stammered. Bruce pressed his earpiece. " Got that?" he asked. " On our way," Clark replied.

Bruce turned back to Hawkins. " Let's have a chat, you and me," he smirked.


	21. Twenty One

Skylar had fallen asleep leaning on her knees and arms. She woke up with the loud sound coming from outside. She stood up, walking to the glass door, trying to see what was going on.

The room they were in was empty. She looked up. " What's going on?" she asked. Gavin was sitting down, looking bored. He sighed. " Probably some newbie that came is causing a problem, they should take care of it soon," he replied.

Then Skylar heard a big explosion sound, looking up once more time with a smirk. " Does that sound like a newbie problem?" she asked. Gavin seemed surprised at it too, he had gotten up and was looking out.

She could see the room and the voices of something happening were coming from outside. She looked at the door and suddenly the door was thrown out. Someone had grabbed it from the outside, pulled it and unattached it from its place. 

Skylar's heartbeat sped up, she didn't know who was on the other side. Whether they were bad guys or not. " That doesn't seem good," Gavin murmured. She gulped, trying to see who it was.

Relief washed over her when she spotted Superman and Wonder Woman coming through the door. The two heroes looked around the room and when Superman spotted Skylar he sped up to her cell.

He touched his earpiece. " We found the hostages," he said then looked at Skylar, smiling. She couldn't help but smile as they shared a look. She was saved. If he was here that meant Bruce was too. It was over.

Superman grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it, opening the door. She walked out of it happily. She wanted to hug Clark for saving her and ending this nightmare, but she knew she shouldn't. 

As she waited Superman and Wonder Woman quickly freed everyone from their cells. There were sixteen people there in total, minus for Skylar, Diana and Clark. " What's this on your necks?" Diana asked angrily.

" Inhibitor Collars, keeps us unable to use our powers," Gavin replied. Diana furrowed her brows, stepping closer to him and examining it. " That's just inhumane," she murmured, putting her hands on it and breaking it open.

Gavin took a step back, breathing in heavily. " Thanks," he managed to say. Diana smiled in response. " Let's get these out," she murmured, walking to someone else and doing the same thing. 

Clark gave a look to Skylar. " May I?" he asked. She nodded hesitantly. What if she would burst into flames the second Clark took it off? She held her breath and closed her eyes as he broke it open. When she opened them again, she immediately looked at her hands. They were fine, she wasn't in flames.

She took a deep breath of relief as Clark moved on to the next person, breaking them free of their collar. When it was all done, he floated to the air, gaining attention. " Follow us, we're going to get you out of here," he ordered.

The group started to follow them. There were two people in particular who weren't in shape to walk or even stand, due to the torture to activate their genes, so Superman and Wonder Woman were carrying them.

They got out of the building. Martian Manhunter was standing with someone else, who seemed like he was almost going to pass out. " We need to get these people medical attention," he said, greeting his colleagues and pointing the people.

" I agree," Superman said glancing at them. Then he furrowed his brows, like he was hearing something. The three started to talk among themselves while Skylar turned to Gavin. He didn't seem alright.

She walked up to him. " Hey, are you alright?" she softly asked. He looked at her. "No," he mumbled. " I'm afraid I'll hurt someone, this is too much," he started panting. " Shh," Skylar murmured, kneeling down beside him and making him look at her.

" It's going to be alright, just focus on breathing. In and out, in and out, yes, just like that, good job," she said. He seemed more calmed down now. She stayed with him until she was sure he was okay. He turned to her, " Why aren't you freaking out anyway?"

Skylar furrowed her brows. " Should I be?" she asked. Gavin chuckled. " You've basically done nothing but freak out since the moment you got here, blame a guy for assuming," he said. She laughed. " Well, the Leauge is here, we're safe, it's over now, I don't have a reason to freak out,"

" Yeah, sure," Gavin muttered. " What does that mean now?" Skylar asked. " It's not over, they are probably going to take us somewhere, examine us, the powers, we are never going back to our old lives," he said.

She sighed. " You're not very optimistic, are you?" she asked with a faint smile. Gavin shrugged. " Can't say I am," he replied. Skylar bit her lip. " Well, maybe you should try to be a little, don't focus on the bad, focus on the good things," she argued. " Like what?" Gavin asked, crossing his arms.

" You're out of that cell after four months, that's something," she said. Gavin took a moment to reply. " Huh, you're right," he mumbled. Skylar smiled. " Always am," she responded. Then their conversation interrupted by the sound of sirens and lights.

Three police cars and four ambulances had shown up. " Cmon, let me help you," Skylar said, getting up and offering her hand. " I'm fine," Gavin replied sharply. " I can see that you're limping," she shot, crossing her arms and giving him a look. " Fine," he breathed out, taking her hand and getting up.

Skylar helped him walk to one of the ambulances, dropped him off and turned to where the heroes were standing. To not compromise their identities she was trying to stay away from them, but she wanted to know where Bruce was. 

Then the police got out of the building, they entered while Skylar was helping Gavin, with a bunch of handcuffed criminals. She spotted Roy was one of them, his face bruised and a black eye. She couldn't help but smirk.

Someone patted on her shoulder. When she turned around she came face to face with Diana. " Cmon," she whispered, pulling her away. " What's going on?" she asked. " We're using the distraction," Diana replied, pulling her behind some trees, covering them.

" Did you think you were going with the other hostages?" she asked. Skylar shrugged. " Uh, yeah?" she mumbled. Diana gave a small smile, checked around and grabbed Skylar's shoulder. She felt something happening, as if she was floating or being thrown, and when she opened her eyes she was standing in a big illuminated room. 

They were no longer outside of that building. " Where are we?" Skylar asked in shock, turning to Diana. " This is the Watchtower," she replied, " Our base of operation," she added, putting her hand up and showing the place. Skylar walked to the big window, to see the view.

" WE ARE IN SPACE?" she exclaimed. " AM I LITERALLY STANDING IN A FLOATING BUILDING, IN SPACE, ALONGSIDE MY IDOL?" she yelled excitedly. Diana gave out a small chuckle. " Yes, you are, Bruce told me to bring you here," she replied.

Then she walked toward Skylar, touching her shoulder. " What do you say we clean up your wounds before the rest comes?" she asked. Skylar furrowed her brows, " What wounds?" she mumbled. Diana gave her a sympathetic look. " Come with me," she said.

The two women walked out of the big room, where they had the meetings and such, and onto a smaller one. It looked like some kind of medical room with high tech equipment. " Just sit over there," Diana said, pointing to a stretcher.

Skylar did as she was told, eyeing the room. Diana came back shortly with the first aid kit. " Do I really look that bad?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood. Diana frowned, " You have a swollen lip, red cheek, and a purple neck," she said. " What happened to you?"

" Well, uhm," Skylar mumbled, putting her right hand up. She focused on it, imagining it to be on fire, " In order to get this," she said, flames covering her hand, " he tortured me to death," she said. Diana looked at her hand and then to her back in shock.

She started to clean her wounds and then applied some sort of cream to the bruises. " I'm sorry you had to go through that," she finally said. Skylar gave a small smile. " Thank you, also thanks for saving me," she said.

As the two women shared a smile the door opened, Bruce walking inside. " I'll give you two some time," Diana said in a low tone, dropping the medical equipment she had, and walked out. Meanwhile, Bruce took his mask off, rushing to Skylar.

He immediately hugged her tightly. She laid her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath. " I'm sorry I let you get taken away," he murmured. Skylar smiled bitterly. " It's okay, I'm here now," she replied. 

He took a step back, examining her face. " Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded. " Yeah, I am, don't worry," she said and Bruce gave her a disbelieving look. " Fine," she breathed out, " I'll be okay," 

" I'm sorry," he said. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Stop saying you're sorry," she muttered. Bruce opened his mouth to argue back but she outdid him, leaning on and kissing him. After their kiss, she smirked. " We're together now, that's what matters, forget about it, okay? I'm trying to," she said.

Bruce sighed, nodding. " Fine," he mumbled. " Cmon, we better go," he said. " Where?" Skylar asked. " The rest of the Leauge is here, we're going to talk about the whole thing, the hostages, you," he said.

" Me?" Skylar asked again, confused. He nodded. " Even though you haven't been there long, you've seen it there, we could use some insight," he explained. She bit the insides of her cheek. " Okay," she said hesitantly. 

The two walked out toward the meeting room. At the door, Bruce stopped her. " Do you mind waiting here for a while? We need to talk among us first," he said. Skylar furrowed her brows. " But I thought you relied on my experience? What good does it too if I stay here?" she argued, crossing her arms. 

" Just, wait here for a while, we'll call you in," he sighed. " Okay?" he asked. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Fine," she said, but it was so long from fine. She watched him go in and close the door and then took a deep breath, looking around the hall.

It was a simple hall however there was nothing else but walls, meaning she had to wait on her feet for however long. This was stupid, she was kidnapped, tortured, stayed in a small cell for hours only to be rescued to be asked to wait outside on her feet when all she wanted to do was take a hot shower and then sleep.

She was tired, her body was aching all or and she was confused as hell. She wasn't an ordinary person anymore, she fucking light on fire. It was dangerous. Because of all the action, she hadn't had a decent time to think it thoroughly, but now that she was safe, she was freaking out.

She was a simple girl from Central City, she had been ordinary her whole life. All she wanted was to finish her school, find a good job and have someone at her side to spend her life. But instead, she had been at the hands of a crime lord, kidnapped, forced to activate her unknown meta-gene and was basically a human torch, in a sense. 

At least, she liked to think she got one part of her wishes true, she had found Bruce. She didn't know where their relationship was headed but the only good thing to happen to her for a long time was him.

The rest? It was like a damn bad joke. It was scary. What would happen now? She had fucking powers, it didn't feel real, it scared her so much. And now, the Leauge was inside, talking about her, without her being inside there. 

Skylar was furious, beyond furious. She didn't want anything to do with this but now she was forced into this and the Leauge wouldn't even let her be inside the room when they were talking about her and what she went through. It was bonkers. 

It already had been more than twenty minutes since they started their meeting and Skylar was getting impatient. It wasn't fair. She took a deep breath, glaring at the door. She should be inside there, talking then get it over with and go home. It was what she wanted.

Her heartbeat sped up and she started to breathe rapidly. Her arms and long started to feel numb. She was fucking furious. With a deep breath, she burst inside the room like a time bomb ready to explode.

" Are you actually going to give me the chance to talk? Or am I supposed to wait outside until your highnesses feel ready to hear what I've gone through? Is this how you treat the people you save? Letting them wait on their feet after they've literally been tortured? What is wrong with you people?" she exclaimed.

Everyone inside the room had turned to her with confused or shocked expressions. Diana turned back to them, pointing at Skylar, " See what I mean? She's dangerous!" she said sharply. " She can fly?" Hal asked surprised. 

" What?" Skylar exclaimed and then she realized she was floating in the air. She was looking down on the Leauge. Bruce's expression was unreadable. Needless to say, Skylar's whole body was now on fire and apparently when she lashed out she was now able to fly. 

Bruce stood up, looking at her. " Can you come down? So we can talk," he said. " Uhm, I don't think I can," she replied. " I don't know how to," she added. Clark sighed getting up and taking off his cape. He then flew toward Skylar.

Oliver leaned toward Hal. " Is this how your meetings always go? Because damn, it's much more entertaining than I thought," he said. Hal smirked. " It isn't, but, I know right?" he replied. 

Clark stopped in front of Skylar. " Can you try to calm down? Breathe steadily, and I'll hold you," he said. She nodded, closing her eyes and trying to focus on her breath. She was embarrassed, she let her emotions got the best of her, barged into the meeting and made a fool of herself.

It was an impulsive decision, the kind she made and never ended in a good thing. She should really try to learn her emotions, especially now more than ever since now when she got angry she literally burst into flames. 

She tried picturing the flames extinguished, her body going back to normal and counted her breaths. Then, suddenly, the force helping her fly disappeared and she started to fall. She closed her eyes in fear and waited to possibly hit the ground.

Instead, when she opened her eyes Clark was holding her and he had wrapped his cape around her. He slowly went back to the floor and then let her down. " Thanks," Skylar mumbled, looking down. She was now standing in front of the whole Justice Leauge naked and covered in Superman's cape. 

To say that she was embarrassed was the understatement of the century.

" I think we had some extra clothes," Martian Manhunter said, standing up. " Follow me please, Miss Jones," he said, walking out. Skylar did as told. They walked for a few minutes and entered a room. Jonn handed her some clothes. " Thank you," she said. He gave her a smile. " I'll wait outside," 

After she was dressed they walked back to the meeting room. What she had done really dawned on Skylar and she regretted ever storming in there. Just thinking about what happened made her blush as red as a tomato and she wanted to get underground to avoid facing them again.

Jonn pointed the Flash's chair for her to sit. He was away on his honeymoon anyway, it shouldn't be a problem. Skylar quietly sat in the chair, focused on the table and not daring to look up to anyone. 

It was an awkward couple of minutes where no one spoke up. Finally, Skylar collected enough courage to look up. She coughed before speaking. " Uhm, I'd like to apologize for my outburst," she said.

" That's perfectly okay considering what you went through Miss Jones, we're sorry to keep you waiting," Jonn said. Skylar smiled softly. " Anyway, as I was saying," Diana spoke up, " There are seventeen new metas, Hera knows whether that was the only facility they had, we need to make sure those people are taught to use their powers and not hurt anyone," she said.

" We are already transferring them to S.T.A.R. Labs, they should take care of it," Green Lantern spoke up. " Diana's right, what if that was not the only place? Over the last month, we learned that they kidnapped way more people than we anticipated. There are over fifty people missing," Clark said.

" I bet after this they'll completely relocate, lose their trails again," Green Arrow joined in. " But that doesn't change the people we have rescued," Diana replied. " She's right, as we can see, heightened emotions are affecting their control, and after going through that they must be taken care of properly," Batman said.

Superman turned to Batman. " What do you propose?" he asked. " We should initiate a meta-human rehabilitation program. Regardless of the kidnapping, many potential meta-humans unintentionally activate their genes, and they don't know how to control it. With a program, we can keep everyone safe," he explained. 

" Would S.T.A.R. Labs go for that?" Martian Manhunter asked. " I don't see a reason not to, they've been helpful since the beginning," Superman replied. Then he sighed, turning to Skylar. " Can you tell us about your experience there? Did you hear anything?" 

Skylar took a deep breath. " I talked to two people when I was there. Roy Hawkins, and another hostage like me. His name was Gavin and he had been there for four months. He told me Lex Luthor was secretly testing all of his employes and had them kidnapped. Roy also told me there was a reason he kept his eye on me until my time came apparently," 

" Roy Hawkins, one of the right men of Steven Mandragora, right?" Green Arrow asked. Skylar asked. " So, we are certain both of their involvements in the whole thing, right?" Hal asked. Batman nodded. " Your time, what does that mean?" Diana asked.

Skylar sighed. " I don't really know but Gavin had a theory. He thought that they wanted to use us, that whatever the 'bad guys' were up to we'd be the distraction," she answered. Clark furrowed his brows, " Distraction for who?" 

" For you," Skylar replied. " His theory was that, when they decided to carry out their plan, they'd take off our collars, releasing us to the streets and since we were not in control of our powers, we'd probably cause havoc and you'd be forced to intervene to stop us, meanwhile they would get the opportunity to do what they want," 

After Skylar's words, everyone took a moment to digest what she said. Needlessly to say they were shocked at the revelation. " That's just crazy man, even for Lex Luthor," Arrow mumbled. " We need to find out if there are other facilities," Batman said.

" Agreed," Diana said. " They're torturing people, we can't sit idly by anymore now that we know what are they really up to," she added. " I'll handle the satellites and the surveillance from here," Jonn said. 

As that was agreed upon Diana turned to Skylar. " Now onto the other matter at hand, Skylar, I thought you had control over your new powers but you don't and we can't wait until the program Batman offered to take place, if you lose your cool it could hurt the people around you," she calmly said.

" Literally though," Hal whispered to Oliver. Diana gave him a glare and he shrugged. Diana sighed. " So I propose to take you back to Themyscira with me, to help you control your powers there, where you and people around you will be safe," she offered. Skylar looked at her shocked. 

" You didn't tell me this when you said you had a plan in mind," Bruce spoke up. Diana shrugged. " Now you do," she replied. " If I may, I think it makes sense," Aquaman spoke up the first time since Skylar had entered.

He sighed. " I haven't been part of the rescue operation but I've seen firsthand how devastating uncontrolled meta-humans can be, and I agree to create a program. But until it is done it seems safest Miss Jones should go with Diana," he said. 

After that, much to Bruce's little protest, the Leauge plus Skylar voted on Wonder Woman's offer and at the end the favor was on her going. She was scared of herself after her burst out and in her 'normal' life, if she could have one now, she was around Alfred and Dick. And many people from her new school. She didn't want to harm anyone, not now, not ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I’d really like to know your opinions about the story so please don’t be shy to comment through it! Thanks :)


	22. Twenty Two

Once the meeting ended Bruce and Skylar went back to the Wayne Manor. Diana was going to pick her up at midnight. This gave them around two hours, to talk it over and for her to pack her stuff. 

They went to Bruce's bedroom while Skylar started to pack. She had brought over some clothes when she spent a few days here at Christmas and Bruce had brought her bag from their trip to Central City. 

" Are you mad?" Skylar asked. " No," Bruce replied. She turned to him. " Are you sure?" she asked again. He sighed. " I admit, I let my feelings get the best out of me at the meeting, but I know it's the right thing to do, I don't want you to hurt yourself," he said. 

She nodded. " Yeah, exactly. I'm around you, Dick, Alfred, other people. I can't go through what happened earlier happen again and hurt someone. Especially, someone, I care about," she explained. Bruce didn't answer and Skylar bit her lip, being reminded of her outburst. 

" I'm sorry," she mumbled. " I shouldn't have stormed in like that, it was wrong of me, I, I just got so angry, all I wanted once I was out of that cell was to come home and have a shower, I swear, then I let my thoughts anger me and then, well, you know," she rambled.

Bruce walked toward her, putting his hands on her neck softly and making her look at him. " That's okay, you were right, we, I, should've thought that you might want to relax after going through all of that," he said. She faintly smiled at his reply. " Still, I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry," 

" I thought we agreed on not saying 'sorry' anymore," Bruce pouted. Skylar bit her lip. " But," she started and he kissed her, not allowing her to talk. When he leaned back he smirked. " This is how it goes down, right?" he asked and she chuckled. " Fine," she breathed out.

Then she went on with packing. She didn't know whether they would provide clothes for her, or how long she was going to stay at Themyscira, if the number of clothes she was bringing going to be enough.

When she was done she went to the bathroom. She gasped once she looked at the mirror and saw herself. She never had the chance to see how bad she looked ever since she got kidnapped. Her lip and cheek were swollen.

Skylar slowly pulled the shirt she had and saw the marks of the taser where Roy used on her. They were little pointy reddish marks all over her body. Some of those were swollen too. Then her eyes drifted to her neck, the parts where Roy choked her. She looked horrible.

Unintentionally her hands started to touch her bruises and tears started to form in her eyes as the memories of her torture filled her mind. As if she wasn't now safely standing in Wayne Manor, she felt like she was back in that room with Roy looking at her in an evil way. 

" Skylar?" Bruce asked, lightly knocking and the door, entering the room. She was in no shape to answer, she barely even recognized his presence in the room. He slowly walked up to her and touched her shoulder, trying to draw her attention.

She jumped with his touch, turning to him. " Bruce," she muttered, throwing herself at him and finally breaking down in his arms. He embraced her immediately. She was panting, tears were rolling down her face uncontrollably and she was almost shaking.

They slid down to the floor, on their knees, still hugging. " Sky, Sky, breathe," Bruce said, his hands moving from her shoulder to her face, making her look at him. " You have to breathe," he added, looking at her eyes. 

" I, can't," Skylar managed to make out. " I'm here, you are safe, Sky, he'll never be able to hurt you ever again, I won't let it," he softly said, caressing her cheek. After that he let her cry it out on his chest until she calmed down, her breathing becoming more steady.

When she calmed down enough Bruce lifted her body up, walking out of the bathroom and onto the bedroom. They laid on the bed for a few more minutes, him holding her, until she was done crying. 

" Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Skylar shook her head. " It was so bad," she replied, " I don't think I'm ready to tell about it," she took a deep breath and looked at him, " Would that be a problem?"

Bruce furrowed his brows," Of course not, whenever you feel ready," he responded. " But I want you to know, from now on, I will never let anyone hurt you, you'll never have to go through something like that, ever again, okay?" he asked.

Skylar slowly nodded. " Okay," she mumbled. A faint smile appeared on his face. " Good, what do you say we go eat something? I'm sure Alfred has something prepared," he offered. She shook her head. " No," she exclaimed, " I don't want him and Alfred seeing me like that, I, just," she mumbled.

" Okay, then," Bruce said getting up from the bed, " I'll bring something over, does that sound alright?" he asked. " Yes, thank you," Skylar replied. He kissed her forehead then left the room. She took a deep breath. 

She didn't want Dick seeing her like that, because even though the kid was Robin, she didn't want him getting upset. She knew the two had created a bond, similar to a sibling bond, and she knew that even if he wouldn't show it he'd get sad. As for Alfred, he was probably used to seeing people like that, given that Bruce was Batman, but deep down, Skylar didn't want him seeing all bruised and broken too, he had become a father figure. 

She got up from the bed and went into the bathroom again, to wash her face. She avoided looking at the mirror as much as she could and quickly finished her business. When she walked out, the clothes she had on seemed to strangle her.

They were the same clothes the Martian Manhunter gave her and frankly, they were huge and uncomfortable on her. She hesitantly walked toward Bruce's wardrobe and started looking through it. There were mostly suits, no shocker there, and in the corner, there were some hoodies and jumpers.

She took the smallest looking jumper, with tightening it enough it should fit her. Then she looked at the hoodies. They were all college hoodies, mostly European but she could spot a few non-European ones. In the end, she decided on the Cambridge one, thinking it had the better color combination. 

When Bruce came back Skylar had just finished changing. He looked at her funnily. " Sorry, I didn't mean to pry on your wardrobe without your permission, but," she started explaining but he cut her off. " No, no, it's okay, it's just weird, seeing you in my clothes," 

" I know! This is so baggy," Skylar said along with a smile, putting her hands up and showing how big it was. " I like it though," she added, walking to him and looking at the tray he had. There were meatballs, fries, and some spaghetti. She grabbed one of the fries and jumped on the bed. " Did you really study at all those colleges?" 

Bruce chuckled, sitting next to her and leaving the tray between them. " Yeah, it was temporary though, I changed it a lot," he explained. Skylar nodded, grabbing a few other fries. " Yeah, I could see," she mumbled. 

The truth was, up until she spotted the food Skylar never realized how much hungry she was. The last time she ate was at Barry Allen's wedding. With everything she went through, food was her last worry but now she was starving. 

" Sorry, I'm eating all of it, are you hungry?" she asked after a while. Bruce chuckled. " I thought we agreed on not saying sorry," he replied. Skylar huffed. " Fine," she mumbled. " And no, I'm not," he said.

They spent the rest of their time just talking and watching some TV. Then Bruce's phone vibrated. He sighed, looking at it. " Diana's here," he mumbled. " Okay," she muttered, both getting out of the bed.

Bruce grabbed the bag Skylar packed and they started walking. She was just following him and they ended up going outside to the backyard. There was a small jet, landed on the lawn. " Wow, when she said she'd pick me up I assumed she meant a car," 

Bruce shrugged, opening the door and stepping on the porch. Skylar eyed the jet for a moment before turning back to him. " So, do we say goodbye now?" she muttered. Bruce took a deep breath, hugging her tightly. After their hug, they shared a kiss.

When Bruce leaned back he looked like he wanted to say something. He seemed uncertain of it. " Sky," he mumbled, " Sky, I," he started but she cut him off, " I know, me too," she replied, biting her lip.

She could feel her tears forming on her eyes and she didn't want to make this harder than it should've been. They shared another quick kiss afterward and Skylar took her bag from his hands and turned around, walking to the jet.

When she neared it the door opened, revealing Diana. " Hi," she said. " Hello," Skylar mumbled, stepping inside. They went in, Skylar left her bag to the ground and then they sat down. She eyed Bruce for as long as she could, until they departed and he got out of sight. She could feel Diana could tell that something had happened, but she chose not to say something which Skylar was grateful for.

She took a deep breath, quickly wiping her tears and turned to Diana. " Where are we going anyway that we need a jet for?" she asked. Diana smiled. " Themyscira, the island where I was born and grew up is in the Aegean sea, located between modern-day Greece and Turkey," she replied.

Skylar was surprised at that answer, they were practically going to the other side of the world. " Don't worry, though, this jet is faster than usual, the flight should be shorter than usual," she said with a smile. " Cool," Skylar replied, not knowing what else to say.

" So, how it's like, in Themyscira?" Skylar asked after a while. " It's beautiful, surrounded by the bluest sea and covered in green, it's a paradise, you'll love it there," Diana explained. " Would it be okay for me to go? I'm an outsider," she said.

Diana shrugged. " You're a woman, we had this long-lasting policy of no men ever setting foot on the island, but it's been compromised a few times. However when you're a woman, it's okay, don't worry. Plus, I'm the one taking you there, you're invited," she said.

Skylar nodded. " Okay, but are you sure I won't hurt anyone?" she asked. Diana tilted her head. " Yes, the Amazons are warriors, don't worry about hurting anyone there," she replied. Hearing that gave a sense of relief to Skylar.

When the jet landed on the island, the sun was on the top, and Skylar was mesmerized by the view. She knew how islands looked like, covered in nature and all, but this, this was like paradise. It was beautiful, she didn't have the words to describe it. 

" Welcome to Themyscira," Diana smirked, getting up from her seat and walking out. Skylar quickly followed her, grabbing her bag from the ground and getting out of the jet. There Diana was talking to a woman.

Diana half turned to Skylar. " This is Sofia, a friend of mine," she introduced. Skylar smiled. " Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Skylar," she replied. Sofia smiled. " Welcome to Themyscira," she greeted. " I need to see my mother, can you take Skylar to her room, please? I'm sure she is dying to have a shower and rest," 

Sofia nodded. " Of course," she replied. Diana turned to Skylar. " Take today off, relax, we'll start in the morning," she said. Skylar nodded. " Okay, thank you," she replied, not knowing what else to say. Was Diana the one to help her? How would it go?

Diana smiled, patting on her shoulder. Then she turned around, walking away while Sofia started walking toward the other direction. They passed by women in war armor, sword fighting, doing archery and various other things in a field. " They're just training," Sofia said.

" Oh," Skylar mumbled, " Seems interesting?" she followed up. Sofia chuckled. " We can teach you too, if you want," she said. " I don't know," Skylar muttered, looking over to the woman. " I hardly think I'm cut up for it," 

Sofia took her to a room, it had a big bed and some furniture that went along with the vibe of the island. Skylar realized that the buildings, clothes, everything belonged to Greek culture, especially Ancient Greek culture. She knew of the culture a bit from her International Relations lectures, she even took an elective on the Ancient Civilizations and it provided some insight for her.

" The bathroom is through the hall, you can find it at the right end of it," Sofia said once they reached the room. " Okay, thanks," Skylar replied. As Skylar heard Sofia leave, she left her bag on the floor and walked toward the window. Or, at least, what she presumed was the window since there wasn't glass. 

It looked over to a field and then the sea and the sky. It was breathtaking. 

Once the took over the fact that she was now on Themyscira, she grabbed the towel that was on her bed and walked to the bathroom. It was like a cave, there were big rocks with shiny blue water filled inside. After taking a shower and feeling her body relax she went back to the room and fell asleep on the soft bed with subtle breeze passing her body by.

The next morning Diana waked Skylar up. She opened her eyes to see that the sun was rising and it was still dark outside. " Be ready in five," Diana ordered and then left. Skylar huffed, getting up.

Diana was waiting for her in the hall. She gave her a smile and then they started walking. They ended up walking toward a cliff, where Greco-Roman type columns were standing. Once they reached there Diana sat down, gesturing her to do the same. They ended up sitting down and facing each other with the sea on their side.

" You need to learn how to control your powers," Diana started, " But in order for you to do that, you need to have peace within, I know that you've been through hardships and it has it's effects on you," she said. " You need to face what happened, accept it, and move on because that's how you got your powers. If you don't accept the fact on how you got them you'll never be able to fully control them," 

Skylar took a deep breath, looking down. She didn't feel ready to talk about it Bruce, but maybe it would be easier with Diana, she was a woman, she'd understand. " Start from the beginning," Diana ordered.

So, Skylar did it. She told Diana everything. Since her starting to work for Roy Hawkins, the way he used her, hit her when she disobeyed, threatened her and her parents. And the kidnapping, the things he revealed to her, the way he tortured her. The moments where Skylar was sure her body was about to give up and she'd die. 

At the end of it, Skylar had shed some tears, but she was feeling a sense of relieve, since it was finally out in the open. Diana asked her some questions and she answered them honestly. She honestly didn't blame Bruce, Roy apparently had his eye on her long before she met Bruce and Skylar understood how he couldn't do much during the kidnapping. 

" I need you to understand that you are no longer in that position, you're strong, you're capable of protecting yourself and you've got tons of help, you never have to be in a situation like that ever again, where you can't protect yourself, alright?" Diana had finally said. Skylar nodded. 

They talked for a while more before finally going to breakfast. There Diana introduced Skylar to her mother, the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. She was warm toward Skylar, which extremely made her feel more welcomed and relaxed. This island was full of women she didn't know, and she had a lot of worries going there, but so far, everyone she met was friendly enough and it seemed like her time here would be just fine.


	23. Twenty Three

A month had passed since Skylar's arrival on Themyscira. After some time she warmed up to the woman there, most of them were friendly toward her anyway, and soon she stopped feeling like a burden there. 

For the first week, she spent there Diana helped her come to terms with the torture she went through and helped her accept it, moving in from it. She was constantly in contact with the Leauge and she learned that he was now locked up in Belle Reve, a jail with the reputation of being inescapable. That gave her a huge relief.

On top of that, she learned to control her powers. One very important key factor was to keep her emotions in check. Before they would come out when she was heavily feeling something, thus being uncontrolled, but now, she was trained. She didn't burst into flames anymore. 

A heat of warm would cover her body, her eyes changed to orange when she used her powers. She didn't burn anything if she didn't want to, and with wearing inflammable clothes, she wasn't damaging anything. 

The flames would come when she used all of her powers, when she forced herself to the limit. Other than that, she was now in total control of her powers. She could shoot flames from her hands and feet, it was pretty much like fire-bending from the cartoon Avatar. 

Diana also taught her how to fly, she was still a bit behind on that one, but at least she wasn't falling to her butt now, just had trouble staying in the air and defending herself was a bit tricky. But only flying was okay, she was able to do it. Plus, she didn't think there'd be any scenarios where she had to be in that situation, being a hero. 

Skylar was sitting with Sofia, Mala, and Oeone after lunch, watching a training match go between two Amazon's when Diana approached her. " Hey!" Skylar greeted, getting up and hugging her. The truth was they had become close friends in the months she spent here. 

Diana had been gone for the last three days, something about a Leauge operation and a UN meeting going down. Diana was the representative of Themyscira in the United Nations, just like Aquaman was for Atlantis. After they've surfaced they've become the diplomats for their respective homelands. 

" You seem to be fitting in here pretty well," Diana commented, eyeing the piece Skylar was wearing. Since she didn't know how long she was staying on the island she didn't know how many clothes to bring, plus, there was a system working here and she didn't want to be disrespectful toward it, so, after a few weeks, she asked Sofia for some clothes.

Skylar nodded. " Yeah, they're so comfortable," she replied. " And much room to fight in as well," Mala added. Skylar smirked. " Well, I wouldn't know about that part, but it sure seems like it," she said, looking over to the Amazons fighting. She wondered if she could be like that, learn to protect herself, not just based on her powers, but by learning how to fight.

Diana caught the longing look in Skylar but she didn't say anything about it and changed the subject. " I was talking to the Leauge, and we all agree that you're ready now," she said. Skylar turned to her, her brows furrowed. " Ready to go back?" she asked, her tone raising out of excitement. 

" Yes," Diana nodded, " I was talking it over with my mother too, she has been supervising your process as well, and we both think you don't pose a threat anymore, you're in total control," she continued. " Yeah, she is," Oeone said, getting up with a smile on her face. " If you're okay with it, we could leave at midnight," 

Skylar was surprised as she turned to Diana once again. " Tonight?" she asked. Diana nodded. " Yes, I have to be at Washington tomorrow, I'm sure you missed Gotham too," she said. Skylar bit her lip. She did. She missed the city and the people she cared about in the city. Bruce. " That just means that we have to show Skylar how the Amazons farewell each other, until next time," Sofia said, patting on Skylar's shoulder. She smiled in return. " That'll be cool," 

The Amazons alongside Skylar shared a long dinner and drank. They had wine, which was a blissful surprise to her, and they said their goodbyes. Then Skylar went back to her room to pack up her clothes. She was so scared when she first came here, fear of hurting others, not being able to fit in, to be cast outside, herself. But everything worked out at the opposite, she was now in full control, made some friends and had a confidence boost. 

The closest friends she made there were Sofia, Mala, and Oeone, alongside Diana, which was why she spent most of her time with them. Sofia was the one who trained her when Diana was unavailable. 

The women were waiting beside the jet to say their farewell. " It was a pleasure to know you, Skylar Jones," Mala said, reaching in for a hug. " Pleasure's all mine," Skylar replied, hugging her back. " Don't forget to kick ass back in your city, and believe in yourself," Oeone said, being the next. " I will," Skylar replied, hugging her too. 

" You can visit anytime you want, we'd love to have you back," Sofia said, she was the last. " Thank you," Skylar replied, hugging her too. After that, she smiled, looking at her new friends. " Thank you to all of you for everything you've done for me," 

When all of the 'farewell' was done, Skylar and Diana stepped inside the jet, taking their positions. " What are you feeling?" Diana asked, turning on the engine and elevating. Skylar shrugged. " Happy, sad, excited," 

" As Sofia said, you are welcome in Theymscira, you're a respected ally and friend of the Amazons, " Diana replied. Skylar nodded. " I know, thanks, that means a lot to me," she muttered. During her time on the island, she really got to see a new way of living and found appreciation for herself. 

After crossing paths with Roy Hawkins, Skylar slowly lost her confidence in herself. When she was growing up, she was never the one to be ashamed of herself or her actions, and she certainly never stepped down from defending herself. Roy had changed that, breaking her will and belief in her. 

Coming across Bruce, it certainly helped her to get back on her feet, but living with the Amazons was what really reminded Skylar that she was a strong woman who was a human on her own, she owned herself and she didn't need to be afraid to be herself. She was strong. And not because she now had powers or she knew a little bit of fighting, it was because she saw her own worth and value. 

And it was all thanks to the Amazons, which is why what Diana said to Skylar meant a lot to her. They got her to believe in herself and her strength again, in a way she never thought was capable anymore. 

" We should be at Gotham around 4 AM, would that be a problem?" Diana asked. Skylar shook her head. " I don't know, Bruce would probably be up," she replied, and as she did, a tingling covered her stomach. She was excited to see him again, after a whole month. 

She turned to Diana to ask whether he knew or not but she beat her to it. " He knows, I mean, he doesn't know exactly when but that it's soon, I thought you might be happy to surprise him," she said. Skylar bit her lip. " Yeah," she muttered.

Skylar missed Bruce terribly. They only got a chance to talk on the phone once for a few minutes in the last month and she was scared of their first meeting after everything would go. She was scared they might be out of sync, just like after the dinner with Lois and Clark, and this was a month.

When they left things, it was emotional, she had cried in his arms and they talked mostly about non-sense until Diana picked her up. She had cut off Bruce's sentence, she was pretty sure he was going to say the L-word, and she said it too, in a sense, and now she wasn't sure how the pace would be once she'd be back, unannounced. 

They talked for a little bit about everything but the ride was mostly silent as Diana flew the jet and Skylar got lost in her thoughts, mostly imagining the scenarios in her head. 

Skylar's heartbeat went up when the started spotting the Wayne Manor. As Diana started to descend, she couldn't sit beside her seat anymore. She practically jumped up the second the jet landed and walked to the door. She and Diana quickly said goodbye, Skylar thanked her again fr everything, grabbed her bag and walked out.

Alfred was standing at the porch, alone, looking at her. Skylar took a deep breath and walked toward him. " Miss Jones, welcome back," he greeted. " Hi," Skylar responded and Alfred grabbed her bag from her hands. " I assume you're tired from the journey," 

Skylar nodded. " Master Wayne and Grayson are out, I'm sure you'd like to wait for them, can I interest you in some chamomile tea and biscuits as we wait for them?" he asked. She didn't even need to speak for him to understand it. She bit her lip, blushing as she nodded again. They went inside.

" Why don't you go downstairs, to the cave? And I'll join you shortly," he said. " Alright, thanks," Skylar replied and the two parted ways. She had been in the Batcave a couple of times now, she knew the secret way to get in and out of there. 

The cave hadn't changed a bit, it was still the dim place with the now empty displays for the suits and technological devices around the place. Skylar walked toward the big screen, where Bruce mostly handled things and Alfred assisted him when he was out. She sat on the chair, looking at the screen. It was a map of the city and had two redpoints flashing. 

" It shows their location," Alfred said, walking closer to her with a tray of the cups of tea and biscuits as promised. " They're handling a bank robbery at the moment," he continued as he handed her a cup of tea.

Skylar nodded, shifting the chair to face Alfred. " I don't assume it has been quiet in the last month," she commented. Alfred sighed. " Unfortunately not, Miss Jones, have you heard of someone called The Riddler?" 

" I certainly have, but can't say that I have much information," she replied. " Well, he hasn't been around for a while, but he popped up three weeks ago, and has been committing crimes every since then, leaving a trail for the Bat," 

Skylar sipped her tea as he explained it. " Is he at least close to finding him?" Skylar asked. Alfred shrugged. " In a way, yes," he breathed out, " He's also looking over to the familiar facilities, like the one you had been taken to, to find out whether they have more, and if so, where," 

" I'm sure he'll explain everything to you more detailed once he comes back, he knows everything about it after all," Alfred added. " Yeah, I suppose," Skylar muttered. " How's Dick doing by the way?" she asked.

Alfred took a sip out of his cup. " He's well, he was worried about you a bit, expectedly," he replied. Skylar nodded. Then the pair got to talking, Alfred occasionally talking to Bruce on the system, giving him the information he asked for and such. 

Skylar was watching the dots intensely, eager for their arrival. Each time they changed their location she thought that they were coming home but they ended up stopping somewhere. Finally, she took a deep breath and got up from the chair. " I'm just gonna quickly go to the toilet," All the tea Alfred had her drink certainly didn't help her bladder. 

Skylar heard some loud noises coming from within the cave as she made her way back there, wondering what it was. It certainly couldn't be Bruce and Dick, the last time she looked at the screen they were still out. 

However, it really was them. The Batmobile was standing in its place, doors open. 

" Although we do have some company," Alfred said right when Skylar walked into the room. " Company? Alfred-" Bruce started to say as he was taking his hood off but froze when he laid his eyes on her. " Skylar!" Dick exclaimed, running to her.

The two shared a heartfelt hug. " I missed you, I'm so happy you're back!" he said. Skylar chuckled, ruffling his hair. " I missed you too buddy," she replied, tightly hugging him. After that, her eyes drifted off to Bruce, who still stood in the same place, looking at her. 

Dick took a stepback with a smirk on his face as Bruce snapped awake, walking toward Skylar, putting one of his hands to her cheek, the other to her waist, pulling her body and crashing his lips to hers. She was shocked at the action but quickly gave in, putting her arms around Bruce, kissing him back. 

When they took a step back Skylar gulped, looking at his eyes. " Hi," she mumbled. " Hi," Bruce replied, his lips twirling. " Welcome back," he whispered. Skylar smiled. " Good to be back," she said. 

" Okay, so I'm thinking family brunch tomorrow?" Dick asked, chiming in. Skylar smiled looking at him and Bruce huffed. " You have school," he responded. " Yeah," Dick replied, longing out the 'h' sound," But it's a special occasion and I think I should be allowed to cut school for it," 

Bruce rolled his eyes, turning to him. " Not a chance," he replied. Dick huffed and Skylar chuckled. " I promise we can have food once you get back from school," she offered. " Fine," Dick breathed out, turning around and walking to the changing room. 

Ten minutes later Skylar and Bruce were sitting in the balcony of Bruce's room. The sun was rising, it was a purplish and orangey color in the sky, they were seated at the chair Bruce got, specifically for Skylar because she liked watching the view. 

They had been small taking for a bit, mostly Skylar telling about her time in Themyscira and the friends she made there for the past half hour. And they weren't exactly sitting, Skylar was mostly on top of Bruce, he was holding her like a Koala and she was snuggled against him.

" I missed you," Bruce murmured to her ear. Skylar looked up to him with a smile. " Me too," she said. " It was hard to be away from you for a whole month," she added. Bruce smirked, " I know, I'm quite the charmer," 

Skylar rolled her eyes playfully. " You are," she replied. " Wanna see what I can do now?" she asked excitedly, sitting up. Bruce nodded. She got up and took a deep breath and focused on her power. The warmth covering her. 

Then she levitated off the ground a bit, turning around in the air. " I can fly!" she exclaimed. " Yeah, your eyes glow too," Bruce said. She nodded. " I KNOW! How cool is that?" she asked, making him chuckle. 

" Hot," Bruce commented as he got up and Skylar went back down, turning off her powers. She chuckled at his comment. " I bet," she mumbled when Bruce was leaning toward her. She gladly leaned on, connecting their lips.

His hands traveled down to her butt and she jumped, putting her legs against his waist. " Do you want to show me how much you've missed me?" she asked between their kisses. His lips went down to her neck, putting little kisses all around it. " You can be sure of that," he murmured, turning around and walking toward the bed. 

A couple of weeks passed since Skylar came back from Themyscira. During her time on the island she had missed the admissions for the spring semester, and since she had to re-study the fall semester as well, she decided to count these past months as a gap year. She'd start her senior year back in September.

Since she had a lot of free time and little money, she had been looking for jobs a few days after she came back. This time, she and Bruce both agreed on it not being on the Downtown. The guy hadn't called back either. 

In the end, Skylar managed to get a job in a coffee shop as a barista. She had Wednesdays and Saturdays off. It had been two weeks since she started working there, her co-workers were nice enough and she learned the job easily. 

The day was now Wednesday and since she had the day off, Bruce invited her over. He told her he had a surprise for her and only asked her to come to the Wayne Tower. Skylar made her way over there, it was just after lunch, and employees were returning to the building.

Luckily the security now knew her so she didn't have any problem passing through. She had been there a couple of times since she came back already. She started waiting for the elevator behind a couple of people and soon other people joined her.

" Skylar?" someone asked. She turned toward the source of the voice and gasped. " Gavin? What are you doing here?" she asked, giving him a quick hug. He was holding a take out coffee cup. He smiled. " I could ask you the same thing,"

Sure they only knew each other for a little while, but they went through something traumatizing together so she thought they were well acquainted with at least have a quick hug. " I work here," Gavin said.

" After the whole 'rehab' thing, I decided to get out of Metropolis, I interview for a job here and got it," he explained. " Oh, that's good," Skylar replied and the elevator came down. They got in with other people.

Gavin looked at her. " Which floor?" he asked as he pressed the button for the same floor Skylar was going. "The same one," she murmured. " I haven't seen you at where they took us, I was wondering how you were," 

Skylar shrugged. " Yeah, it's a bit complicated," she muttered. Gavin tilted his head. " Okay," he said. " Are you better now?" he asked. She nodded. " Yeah, totally, how about you?" she asked back. 

" I'm good, the 'rehab' really helped, also changing cities has been good for me," he replied. " Yeah, I can see, you don't broad anymore, the whole 'pessimist' vibe is gone," Skylar said with a smile. Gavin chuckled. " Yeah," he said, " I guess I took your advice after all," 

Skylar smirked, hitting his shoulder playfully. " Good for you," she replied and then they came to the top floor. Both of them walked out. " You really do seem good, I'm happy for you," she said. Gavin nodded. " Yeah, I am, thanks," he said while they were walking between the desks and toward where Claire was seated. 

They stopped in front of her desk and she looked up to them with a smile. " Hey," Skylar greeted her. " Hi, how are you, Skylar?" Claire asked. After she came back and came to Bruce's office for the first time Claire tried to apologize but Skylar stopped her, saying it was all under the bridge. They had somewhat of a friendship now. 

" I'm good, you?" she asked. She shrugged. " Buried in work, the usual," she replied. " Yeah, never an unbusy day here," Gavin said. " I bet," Skylar said. " Do you guys know each other?" Claire asked. Both Skylar and Gavin nodded.

" Oh," Claire sighed, " Yeah, both of you are from Metropolis, right?" she asked. " Yeah," Skylar replied, not wanting to disclose how they became friends, and it was true in a way, they did meet first in the internship back in Metropolis. 

Skylar gazed toward Bruce's office then back to Claire. " Is he done?" she asked. Claire shook her head. " He was supposed to be, but something happened last minute. He's on the phone. Do you want me to go in and tell him?"

She shook her head. " No need, he's busy, I'll stick with Gavin until he's free, can you tell him that when he's done?" she asked. Claire nodded and Skylar turned to Gavin. " Would that be a problem?" she asked him. He shook his head. " No, it'd be a good chance to catch up," 

After that, they walked to Gavin's office. It was obviously not as big as Bruce's, but it was still nice. " Wow, you've got an office and all," Skylar commented. Gavin chuckled. " Yeah, I'm doing pretty good," he replied.

" You never answered my question," Gavin then said, leaning on his desk and crossing his arms. Skylar upped her right eyebrow at him. " What are you doing here?" he asked. " Oh," Skylar sighed, " My boyfriend works here, he asked me to meet him here," 

Gavin cocked an eyebrow at her and laughed. " Nice," he said. " But seriously, how have you been since, you know, and all?" he asked. Skylar shrugged and started explaining, without giving out too many details. 

They had been talking for about ten minutes when suddenly Gavin shot up to his feet and turned toward the door. " Mr.Wayne," he said. Skylar turned to the door with a smile. Bruce had just entered the room. "Mr.Thompson," Bruce quickly greeted him and made his way over to Skylar, putting one of his hands to her waist and giving her a cheek kiss. 

" Why didn't you tell me you were here?" he asked her softly. She shrugged. "Claire said you were busy, and I bumped into Gavin, we got to talking," she explained. He nodded. " Okay, I have just one more thing to take care of. Meet me in the parking lot in 5?" he asked.

Skylar nodded. " Okay," she replied. They shared a smile then Bruce turned to Gavin, giving him a head bop and walked out. Skylar turned to Gavin who was looking at her with a surprised face. " What?" she asked her playfully.

Gavin rolled his eyes. " When you said your boyfriend worked here," he said and Skylar nodded, " Yeah?" she muttered, " You should've said he owned it," he finished and Skylar giggled. " You're dating the boss?" he asked in disbelief.

Skylar smirked. " Yeah, I am," she replied. Gavin gave her a playful look. " And I thought I was doing fine," he snickered. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Sure, I'm a barista, just so you know, I haven't graduated yet," 

Then she took a deep breath. " Anyway, I've gotta get going now, take care," Skylar said. " You too," Gavin replied and Skylar walked out toward the elevator. It was really nice to see Gavin well. He didn't seem to be doing okay the last time they were together, and he had been there longer than she was. It made Skylar happy that he was back on his feet again.

When Skylar reached the parking lot Bruce was waiting for her leaned against his car. " Are you still not telling me where we're going?" she asked. He smirked. " No," he replied as he got inside the car, she followed him.

" I didn't know you hired Gavin," Skylar said once they went inside the traffic. Bruce tilted his head. " Yeah," he mumbled. " As the league, we did our best to help those who came out of the rehab to be reintegrated into the 'normal' life, and when I saw his name for the application, I thought 'why not'," he explained.

Skylar nodded. " That's cool," she replied. He had told her the things she had missed while she was away on Themyscira, like the free rehabilitation for the meta-humans, the search on the possible new facilities, who were behind it all. 

" You know, I was thinking that we could go to Central City next week," Bruce said while Skylar was telling her guesses on what they were doing. "Uh, yeah?" she asked. " Barry asked my insight on something and I thought while we were there, we could maybe, uh, I, I could meet your parents?" 

Skylar smiled. " You want to meet my parents?" she asked. Bruce half-smiled. " Yeah, I mean, isn't it the way how things go?" he responded. She nodded. " Yeah," she muttered, " My mom's been grilling me about it ever since she saw the photos on the TV, the ones from Barry's wedding," 

" So you told them about us?" Bruce asked. Skylar nodded again. " Yeah," she replied. " And?" he asked. She furrowed her brows. " And what?" she responded. " Are they okay with it? What do they think?" 

Skylar chuckled. " Are you seriously worried about what my parents think of you?" she smirked. Bruce nodded. " That's so sweet," Skylar said under her breath. " They want to meet you too, I just never brought it up because you are busy," 

" So, next week?" Bruce asked. " I'll let them know," Skylar replied with a smile. Then she realized they were nearing Gotham Academy. " What are we doing here?" she asked. " Picking up Dick," Bruce replied nonchalantly with a shrug. 

She gave him a look. " Okay," she said, unsure of it. Before they could talk more Dick got out of the building, rushing to the car. He quickly got in. " Is something wrong? Oh my god, are we going to kick ass?" he asked excitedly.

Bruce smirked. " No," he replied, speeding away. Skylar turned to Dick. " He isn't telling me either, it's a surprise, we'll just have to wait until we find out," she explained. He nodded. "Okay, I won't complain about getting me out of school early anyway," 

Bruce drove back inside the city. At first, Skylar thought they were going to the Manor, but he took a left turn, leaving the house in the opposite direction. He went in some narrow streets and eventually pulled inside a parking lot. 

After parking the car he got out and grabbed the bag. Skylar and Dick followed him. He took out his bag and handed everyone some clothes. " Are we going undercover?" Dick asked confused, looking at the clothes.

" No," Bruce said, " I just thought that we can spend this day together, all of us, you know," he continued, " Alfred is meeting us down at the park, we are going to have a barbecue, I thought we could relax and all, that's why the clothes are for," 

" Aren't you afraid of being recognized?" Dick asked. Bruce shrugged, taking out a hat and sunglasses from the bag. " I think I'll manage," he replied. " Yeah, I don't think anyone will think Bruce Wayne will be in the park on a Wednesday, having a barbecue," Skylar chimed in.

They quickly got changed in the toilets inside the parking lot. Bruce was wearing classic trousers and a white t-shirt with a baseball cap and black sunglasses. He pretty much looked like a typical guy, she doubted anyone would recognize him. 

Dick was walking ahead of the pair and Bruce was holding Skylar's hand. " Tell me, how did this idea come up?" she asked. Bruce's lips twirled. " Well, I know Dick's been wanting to have a 'family' activity, and I always saw the families who spent their Sundays in the park with their families, and I guess, I wanted to try it," he explained.

Skylar couldn't help but smile. " I think it sounds awesome," she replied. " Although, that's not the only surprise for you for today Miss Jones," Bruce added with a smirk and a playful look. She chuckled, " Oh, really?" 

Bruce tilted his head. " Do you know which month it was while you were in Themyscira?" he asked. Skylar took a moment to think. " Uhh, February mostly?" she asked. " What's in February?" she followed up. 

" I'll give you a second to think about it," he said. Skylar started thinking about it, she didn't know his birthday, maybe it was that, other than that there weren't any holidays in February, except, oh, well, Valentine's Day. She gasped a little. " Fourteenth?" she asked. " Bingo," he replied. " Tonight, you're all mine," he added. Skylar smirked. " Deal, Mr.Wayne," she replied leaning in for a kiss.


	24. Twenty Four

Things were stirring up. Both inside and outside of Gotham. Bruce had been busy with what seemed to be the longest time. The only free time he had was when he organized the barbecue thing, other than that he had been working non-stop.

He had been chasing the Riddler for more than a month now, this time he was better at cleaning up after him, leaving little to none trail, so it was tricky to track him. The places he attacked seemed to have no pattern as well, so Bruce couldn't stop the attacks beforehand.

He was also looking for other facilities, he had only found another one, down in Georgia, and he and the Leauge bust the people out of there, transferring them to S.T.A.R Labs about a week and a half ago. Luthor had now caught onto them so he was being more careful.

The only thing that was significantly good was last week when Bruce and Skylar went to Central City and Bruce met Skylar's parents. It went considerably well, and afterward, Skylar said her parents liked him. Even though he tried not to show it, he was a bit excited and nervous for it to happen. It turned out fine in the end, her dad even gave him a pat on the shoulder before they left.

Bruce was now sitting at his office, reviewing some of the stuff he was sent, about Luthor's intentions, who else were involved and the crime reports on the Riddler's last attack. He also asked Claire to keep everyone out unless it was important, or Skylar.

Then his phone rang. It wasn't the corporate line but his personal number, whom only a numbered of people had. It was Clark. " What happened?" he answered the phone. " Nothing, why? Can't I call my best friend without something going down?"

Bruce sighed. " What's up?" he asked. " I need your insight on something," Clark said. " Is it related to work?" Bruce asked again. Clark took a deep breath. " No man, look, I'm hiding from Lois at the moment, because she can't hear, and it's about the thing," he quickly replied.

" Ohh, the thing," Bruce mocked and he could almost picture Clark rolling his eyes. " What about it? Was something wrong with it? Dave was supposed to deliver it to you two days ago," he said. " No, no, I got it, but have you seen it?"

Bruce quickly opened the mail that Dave sent him and looked at the pictures. He had seen them before but didn't get the chance to do it properly, so now he was. " Looking at 'em right now," he answered. " So, what do you think?" Clark asked. " You know Lois better than me Clark," he replied.

" Yes but you're the famous women expert," Clark quickly said, " Erm, were, is, I don't know, point is, you're good at it," he rambled. Bruce held back a chuckle. " It looks just fine Clark, Dave's an amazing artist and I'm sure Lois would love it. Are you sure you're not worried about asking her rather than the rest?"

Clark took a deep breath. " What if she says no?" he asked. " Yeah, maybe she had enough of being kidnapped and thrown from buildings so far so she wants out," Bruce replied. " That's not funny," Clark replied. " Sure," he laughed, " You two practically act married already Kent, don't worry about the answer, all you should worry about are the wedding expenses on a reporter's salary, two reporters salary actually," 

Bruce was picking Skylar up from her work that day. They were going to attend an event together tonight. He was waiting in his car across the street from the cafe she worked at.

He was there five minutes before her shift was supposed to be over so he didn't have to wait for long. As soon as she was done, she quickly crossed the street and got inside the car. " So, how was your day?" Bruce asked while driving to her house after their initial greeting.

" It was fine, a bit busy in the lunch break," she replied, " Yours?" she added. Bruce shrugged. " Same old," he replied. " Did you see Gavin today?" Skylar asked. He furrowed his brows. " No, why?" he asked back.

Skylar gulped. " He came to the shop today, seemed a bit freaked out, I was worried," she answered. " Why was he freaked out? Did he say?" Bruce asked. " Yeah, he said he couldn't contact Daniel and Craig, two of the guys he got closer in the 'rehab', and right before they stopped talking, the guys stopped hearing from the other people from the rehab,"

" Gavin was thinking that maybe they got kidnapped again and he wanted to check on me and see if everything was alright, I told him to give me a call if something goes wrong," she explained. " That's interesting, I'll check it out sometime,"

A couple of minutes later Bruce stopped in front of Skylar's building. " So, I'll pick you up in two hours?" he asked. Skylar nodded. " Yes," she replied. " Alright, I'll text you," he said. " Okay," Skylar smiled, quickly giving him a kiss and getting out of the car. Bruce watched her disappear inside the building then sped away.

As soon as he reached his house he quickly went down into the cave, wanting to look into what Skylar told him and he had left some of the clues he found earlier in for analyzing, the results should be up. The 'missing people' thing was interesting. It could've been nothing, but he wasn't taking any chance. These people had already been through so much.

First, Bruce looked over the results of the analysis, it was a detailed report on all of the weapons and chemicals The Riddler used, he was thinking that if he found a significant thing about them, he could find the supplier and through it, the Riddler.

So far, the only common thing was the gunpowder, in which The Riddler used it to blow up his entrance to wherever he was attacking. Unless you were military or something, the amount of gunpowder you could purchase wouldn't go unnoticed, so he was either buying it from different places in smaller amounts or found a supplier illegally who would give him the big amounts secretly. Bruce would just have to check it out.

After that, he moved on to what Skylar said Daniel and Craig, so Bruce started going through the files of the people they rescued with those two names. Daniel Jenkins and Craig Brown. Both worked for LexCorp for the past five years, until their disappearance, in Metropolis. After the rehab, both stayed in the city although they changed their careers.

He started looking at their social media, to see when they were last active. Daniel's last post was about a week ago and it was a picture taken out in a bar with a group of people. When Bruce looked at the tagged people he saw Craig was the man on the left. He clicked on his profile and his last post was three days ago.

Three days and a week didn't seem like that much of a time of non-posting to be considered kidnapped. Gavin told Skylar that he couldn't reach his friends so Bruce decided to give them a call. He already had their emails and phone numbers in the files.

" Master Wayne," Alfred walked in. " Are you still here?" he asked. " Yeah, just got here," Bruce answered. " Hmmm," Alfred breathed out, " It's been almost an hour, sir, you better start getting ready or you'll be late,"

Bruce furrowed his brows, looking over to his watch. It really had been an hour, he better have started getting ready. " Okay," he sighed, getting up. " I've taken the liberty of preparing some food, sir, in case you're interested in eating in today," Alfred shot.

" Sorry about that," Bruce smiled, " And the suit?" he added. Alfred sighed, giving Bruce a 'done' look. " Prepared in your room," he answered. " Master Grayson has already started his dinner," he continued. Bruce nodded and walked out.

Alfred sighed, looking after Bruce. " That boy can take care of a whole city but not himself, god help his next of kin," he murmured, " If there even will be a next-generation," 

Bruce ate dinner, chatting with Dick in the process, and giving him his instructions on what to do tonight. He also gave the names of the two potential missing people to him to further look into it. He was younger, he understood the social media stuff better than him in some aspects.

After that, he quickly took a shower, got dressed, fixed his hair, and put on the perfume Skylar loved. His eyes then drifted to his watch, he needed to leave in a few minutes otherwise he'd be both late to pick up Skylar and the event.

Before walking out to his car where the driver was waiting for him, he went back to the cave. He wanted to inform the Leauge of what Skylar told him, and wanted them to look into it. Many of the people who were rescued were living in the cities where the others were from, Bruce could look into it himself, but it was Leauge business and it'd be easier for others to get the files for their cities.

So he sent a message to them, briefly explaining the situation and what they needed to do. After that he quickly got up and walked out of the house, getting inside the car and texting Skylar he was on his way.

Thankfully, it didn't take them long to reach Skylar's apartment. She was wearing a long silver dress that complimented her figure. Her hair was down. She looked gorgeous.

" Someone suited up," Skylar quirked when she got in. Bruce smirked. " You're the one to talk, Miss Jones," he replied. She smiled. " Oh, this old thing Mr.Wayne?" she asked, her lips twirled. He licked his lips. " This old thing could certainly change the destination of our night," he said.

It was a charity event, a usual one where you had to show up, smile, talk to people, give some money and then it was done. This time it was about the majority of the students who were coming from low-income families, so Bruce was genuinely interested in this cause.

Most of the people in Gotham, especially the downtown, had ended up in the crime world because they needed money and it was easy to get it. If they had the opportunity, they could study and live their lives without getting caught into crime.

Once they reached the venue, the outside of it was full of paparazzi as usual. Luckily, they were on the sides of the carpet and was guarded by the bodyguards, so they wouldn't be big trouble, Bruce and Skylar would be able to quickly walk through them.

When the car stopped, Bruce got out first and then reached his hand out for Skylar. She took it and got out. Then she took his arm as they started walking. Both of them were smiling at the cameras and they were shouting at Bruce, asking a bunch of questions. He didn't answer they quickly got inside.

For the first hour or so, Bruce and Skylar chatted with other people. It was like a routine for Bruce, show up, smile, small talk, and leave. It was like an act. All of it. Everything in his life except for being Batman was like a facade he put up.

Until Skylar walked into his life.

Before her, Bruce thought that the real Bruce Wayne died when he was eight years old, in that dark alley with his parents. His real identity was Batman, he had one mission and he was carrying it out. Bruce Wayne from the age of eight was just a role, to keep his real identity hidden.

But then Skylar Marie Jones appeared in his life, reviving Bruce. He no longer only thought of the mission, he started to feel again, feel alive, and started hoping. Even when he was wearing the costume, there were always expectations, both from people and himself, but when he was with her, he was just himself. No strings, no pressure, just him. And her. It was peaceful. Bruce was able to breathe.

As they were chatting with the mayor Bruce realized the song that just started playing. It was Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis, an old one, one he hadn't heard in a long time, not since his parents' death. But for the first time, hearing it didn't hurt him.

Instead, he turned to Skylar. She was chuckling at something the mayor said to her. God, she was so beautiful. And Bruce did really love her. So much. With all of him.

" Excuse me, sadly I need to interrupt, Miss Jones, will you dance with me?" he cut in, reaching his hand out to her in a proper manner. Skylar looked at him with a smile. " It would be my pleasure, Mr.Wayne,"

She placed her hand in his and they slowly walked together to where the other people were slow dancing. When they found a distanced enough place they stopped. Bruce put his other hand on her waist, gently pulling her to himself.

" I love this song, it's so romantic," Skylar murmured. He tilted his hand. " I know," he replied, " Apparently this song was playing when my parents were out on their first date, and he asked her to dance with her," he explained.

She looked up to his eyes, slowly biting her lip. " This is the first time you talked to me about them," she said. Bruce nodded. " Because it hurts to think about them," he said, looking down and then quickly around to avoid eye contact, " It used to hurt when I heard this song too,"

" What changed?" Skylar asked, unsure of herself. Bruce scoffed then looked back at her. " You," he whispered. She seemed surprised at the answer, dazed even, and she simply smiled in response.

Per the dance, Skylar took a step back and then came into his arms spinning, for a moment her back was against Bruce's chest. " Sky," he whispered to her ear before she spun away again. She looked at him curiously. Their connected hands were now up in the air and she turned around just when the song was about to end, and the last lyrics were about to be sung. As she spun back into his arms Bruce leaned toward her ear once again, " I love you,"

The song ended, but they stayed like that for a bit longer. Bruce never felt this anxious in a long time, as he waited for her to react. It was probably about thirty seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to him before Skylar finally turned around and looked at his eyes.

" I love you," she said. Bruce breathed out and a smile appeared. Without wasting any time, he leaned down, capturing her lips in a kiss. 

That night, Bruce and Skylar were almost asleep in her apartment when her phone started ringing like crazy. She rolled out of Bruce's arms and reached out to her nightstand, where her phone stood. The light caused her to narrow her eyes.

Then she turned to Bruce, with a hint of alarm in her eyes. " It's Gavin," she murmured, sitting up in the bed and answering the call. " Hello?" she said. Bruce could hear the loud noise coming from the phone. " Gavin, slow down, slow down, what happened? Are you okay?"

As he answered Skylar turned to Bruce. She bit her lip roughly as he kept talking. Bruce furrowed his brows, trying to make out the words Gavin was quickly saying to her. Skylar seemed distressed so in an effort to comfort her Bruce put his hand to her back and gently stroke it. " Okay, I'm coming," Skylar said and ended the call.

" What is it?" Bruce asked. " He says two guys broke into his apartment, trying to kidnap him, he protected himself using his powers, but the guys are knocked out, he's freaked out," she quickly explained. " Let's go," Bruce sighed, getting out of bed. Skylar followed him. " Do you know where he lives?" Skylar's phone lighted up again. " He just sent it," she replied, putting her clothes on.

Within twenty minutes Bruce and Skylar were standing inside of Gavin's living room. There were two guys laying on the ground unconscious, Gavin was sitting at the chair, looking at him, there were tears in his eyes and his hands were shaking.

Skylar immediately went to comfort her friend. " I killed them!" Gavin exclaimed. " I was just trying to protect myself, I was afraid, it just came out, I couldn't control it!" he continued. Bruce kneeled next to the guys, looking for their pulses.

" They're not dead," he spoke up, " Just fainted from the shock," he said, " You shoot lightning out of your hands, right?" he asked Gavin. He nodded. " Yes, sir," he replied, " Are you sure they're not dead?"

Bruce nodded. " Yes, their hearts are beating," he said. Gavin took a deep breath of relief. " Thank god," he breathed out. Skylar smiled at him as she stroked Gavin's back. " What should I do now?"

" Call the police," Bruce instructed. Gavin nodded, taking his phone out. Meanwhile, Skylar walked to his side. " So, what does this mean?" she whispered to him. Bruce looked at the man then back to her. " I don't know, but I need to inform the Leauge, it feels like this is the beginning of something terrible,"

Then he looked at Gavin, he was telling the police about the address. " I could only assume this is still connected to Luthor," he said in a low tone, " After the police takes them, and they wake up, I'll pay these two a visit," he added. Skylar nodded.

By then, Gavin had finished talking to the police. He turned to the couple. " What now?" he asked. Bruce sighed. " We have about seven minutes till the cops arrive," he said crossed his arms on his, " And until they do, I want you to tell me everything that happened, and don't miss a detail,"

It had been three days since the attempted kidnap of Gavin. The guys who attacked stayed in the hospital for two days and after the doctors confirmed they were okay, they were transferred to Gotham City Police Department. The night of their transfer, Batman paid them a visit.

Meanwhile, after Bruce informed the Leauge about the re-kidnapping, they checked some of the other people who they rescued and it turns out three others besides Daniel and Craig were out of sight too.

That night at Gavin's apartment Bruce said that he felt like this was the beginning of something terrible, and with all of this happening, Skylar had started to feel it too. Not knowing what exactly the people who were behind this wanted out of her and people like her was driving her crazy. There was also the anticipation of being kidnapped again.

As a precaution, Bruce asked Skylar to stay with him in the manor until this all thing ended, no one would be able to breach into there without Bruce knowing it and it'd be easier to protect Skylar, all while he still kept working.

Bruce was on the phone when Skylar walked into the room he was at. "Alright, thanks," he murmured into the phone before closing it and turning to her. "That was my security chief, they've relocated Gavin and keeping an eye on him," he explained.

Skylar nodded. " Oh, that's good," she said. " Any new leads?" she asked. Bruce sighed. " No," he said, " I'm still waiting on the camera footage to come back, to find out when they were taken and where to,"

" You know, I was thinking," she breathed out anxiously and Bruce gave her a confused look, " I wanna be prepared for next time," she said. He furrowed his brows. " Next time?" he asked. Skylar bit the insides of her cheek. " If I'm kidnapped again," she replied.

Bruce shook his head. " There won't be a next time," he immediately said. " You don't know that," Skylar replied. " I promised you Sky, I won't let something like that ever happen to you ever again,"

Skylar took a deep breath. " I know, but you can't guarantee it, you were the one said you don't know who was behind all of this, how many bad guys are involved and every stone you turn leads up to someone else," she said, " Look, I'm scared, terrified even. Diana helped me get over it, sure, but the thought of going through something like that again, I don't think I can. So, in case there will be a next time, I want to be prepared, just in case,"

He gave her a look. " What do you propose then?" he asked. Skylar shrugged. " I want you to teach me how to defend myself," she said. " When I was in Themyscira, I saw how the women there trained, fought, able to defend themselves. Now, I know I'm not the same material as them, or any of you, but I just want to learn to protect myself, if a scenario like that ever arises. It'll just make me feel better," she explained.

Bruce took a deep breath. " Okay," he said, " If that's what you truly want," he added. Skylar nodded. " Thank you,"


	25. Twenty Five

" Alright, now, I want you to block my attacks," Bruce instructed. After Skylar's request, they had been training for the past two weeks and a half. So far he had shown her how the postures and positions to do, how to block attacks but never asked her to actually do it, except for when he demonstrated something. 

They were in the Batcave, where Bruce and Dick usually trained. There was some other equipment around that Bruce usually had Skylar practice. " Okay," Skylar replied. " As promised, don't go easy on me, sugar," she added. He smirked. " You know that I never do," 

Then he threw a punch toward her head. Skylar took a step to the left and avoided it. Shortly, his leg followed for a kick, and Skylar blocked it with her elbow and pushed it away. Bruce smirked and aimed at her waist. She was lightly hit and took a step back. 

He threw a punch toward her upper body but this time Skylar tried to do something Bruce showed her a couple of days ago and grabbed his arm with her own as she turned around. Of course, Bruce quickly responded by turning around and using his elbow to pressure on her chest and get free. 

To avoid getting hit Skylar fell back on her arms, essentially doing a bridge, and then using the acceleration she did a backflip and landed on her feet, away from him. Bruce seemed surprised. " Oh, did I forget to mention I did gymnastics until college, along with cheerleading?" she asked with a smirk.

" Well, that certainly explains your flexibility," Bruce replied wearing his infamous smirk. Skylar upped an eyebrow at him. " You ever doubted it?" she asked playfully. He chuckled. "No, but it has given me an idea," 

" Dick was the same, he had gymnastics and acrobat training, so I needed to teach him how to fight with the abilities he had, seems I need to follow the same with you," he explained. " Teaching you how to teach your flexibility to your advantage," he added.

Skylar smirked again. " I thought I already did," she replied. Bruce came closer to her and put his hands around her. " Other than those areas," he said with an amused expression as he leaned on to kiss her.

" I heard my name, lovebirds," Dick suddenly jumped out from the shadows and made his way toward Bruce and Skylar. " Weren't you supposed to be studying?" Bruce asked him. Dick shrugged. " I'm finished," he replied then turned to Skylar, " And I've heard your conversation," he said.

He grimaced for a second, " Except your sex talk, I just want to delete that from my memory," he said and Skylar couldn't help but chuckle. " Anyway, lemme show you something, grandma," he added and walked away from them.

" Bruce," he said then started to run and doing lunges toward him. Once he was close enough he jumped on Bruce, locking his legs around Bruce's neck and bringing him down. As his body went down, he used the movement and jumped back to his feet. 

" See what I did?" he asked Skylar as he extended his arm to Bruce to help him get to his feet. " Yeah," she replied. " I used the momentum to bring him down. Because I knew I wasn't big or strong enough to take him on one-on-one, so I used his size and my flexibility to my advantage," he explained.

" Yes, and this is what I'm trying to do, because, if the event ever occurs, the people you'll be against won't have the same strength as you, and they certainly won't go easy on you," Bruce said. Skylar nodded. " Okay," she murmured, " Maybe you can teach me how you did that," she added while crossing her arms and looking at Dick.

Dick smiled in response. " It'd be my pleasure, grandma," he said as he walked beside her. " You good on being our model?" he asked Bruce. He shrugged, " Do I have any other choice?" Bruce asked with a faint smile. " You kinda don't," Dick replied.

" And maybe you're at it, you can explain why are you calling her grandma," Bruce said. Dick smirked as he and Skylar shared a look. " I don't think I will," Dick said while Skylar giggled and said, " It's something between us," 

Later that week, while Bruce, Skylar, and Dick were training in the cave suddenly a loud alarm went off on the big screen. Bruce and Dick rushed off to the screen to what it was and Skylar moved to get her towel and the bottle of water. 

" What is it this time?" she asked while she drank. " It's not Gotham," Dick answered her. " It's the capital," he added whilst Skylar walked toward them. Right at that moment, Bruce opened up a video of Wonder Woman fighting some people.

There were three people, Skylar assumed they were meta-humans, and they were attacking Diana. " This video was shared online two minutes ago," Bruce said. " Is it starting?" Dick asked. Before someone could answer another image appeared on the screen. 

It was Clark. " Have you seen it?" he asked Bruce. " Yes," he replied. " Five more showed up, I'm on my way, so is Flash, have you figured out their plan yet?" Clark asked again. " Almost, I'm waiting for the files we stole from Lex to be decrypted," 

" Meet us there when you're done," Clark said and turned off the call. Bruce immediately started clicking some buttons and working on the mentioned files. " What's going on?" Skylar whispered to Dick. 

" They found a lead, something called 'Project Exterminate' lead by Lex and involving some of the criminals we've come across so far. They think it's their plan so they hacked the files to see what was up," he explained. " Yikes, exterminate?" she asked, grimacing her face.

Dick shrugged. " What would you expect from bad guys?" he said nonchalantly. Skylar nibbled on her bottom lip as she eyed the screen, it showed a bar that said ' %83 done' in the middle. " Can't it go any faster?" she asked. 

" That's as fast as it goes," Bruce murmured and he opened a new tab. It was a news channel and it was a live stream showing the fight going down. " Two other members of the Justice Leauge just showed up here and they're fighting against the metahumans," the speaker said. 

Then the camera angle changed toward the fight. Wonder Woman and Superman were fighting the metas while Flash was getting the civilians out of the way. Diana threw her lasso around the meta she was fighting and then threw his body in the air and made it hit another one whilst Clark was being hit by electricity. 

" Wait, wait, something's happening," the speaker cried. " It's an earthquake!" she shouted again as the ground split open and around ten other people jumped out. " Shit," Skylar and Dick said it at the same time. She turned to him with furrowed brows, " Language!" 

Dick took out his tongue. " You said it too!" he fought back. She rolled her eyes, " I'm an adult, you're twelve," she shot. Dick sighed and was about to say something snarky back when the computer made a small noise indicating the files were ready. While Bruce was going through them Dick quickly walked to the smaller screen and started to help him. Skylar watched them anxiously. 

After a couple of minutes, Dick took a deep breath as he transferred what he was looking at to the big screen. " Bruce, look at this," he said. Three sets of eyes practically glued to the screen, reading it.

" Holy shit!" Skylar exclaimed once she was done. Bruce got up from his chair quickly. " Dick, go through the files and let me know if you find out the exact number of metas he's got under his control," he said while he rushed to his costume. 

Dick jumped on his chair. " Okay," he murmured. Skylar watched the two of them and sighed. This was it. She walked toward Bruce. " I want to come too," she said. Bruce turned around and gave her a confused look. " What?" he asked.

" You heard me," she said, crossing her arms. " I want to come," she repeated herself. Bruce tilted his head. " No," he said sternly. " But-" he cut her off, " No, Sky. Look, I know, you want revenge. From them, they were behind this and made you go through this whole thing from the start. But getting revenge will not erase the things that happened to you, and frankly, revenge won't help you make rational decisions out there," he said.

Skylar furrowed her brows and took in a deep breath. He was right, she did want revenge. But that was not all she wanted. There was this voice, inside her mind, that with her powers, she could at least be useful to other people. There was a pang of guilt inside of her, before she wasn't in a position to help anyone and now she was. Every day that passed that she didn't, made her feel bad. 

" You could use my help, and I promise I won't let my feelings get the best of me," she urged, even jumping on her feet a little bit and looking at him. Bruce sighed, and then they turned back to the screen when a loud came.

While Dick was searching through the files he was also watching the live streaming of the fight, and a huge fire had started. Skylar looked back at Bruce with a smirk. " I can contain the fire," she said. " You could get hurt, you're not trained properly," he shot.

" I promise to follow your orders, whatever they are," she pleaded. " Clark can handle the fire," Bruce murmured as he kept putting on his suit. Skylar rolled her eyes and looked back to the screen. " He can, but he can't at the moment because he's busy fighting the metahumans,"

" Then Barry," Bruce said. Skylar sighed. " He's busy too," she shot back. Bruce closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them back again. " I know this was going to happen," he sighed and walked away. Skylar turned around and looked after him angrily.

Bruce kneeled and took out something black. It seemed like a suit. " What's that?" she asked. He turned around, revealing the black one-piece suit. " When you said you wanted to be trained, I figured this might lead to somewhere else, so I built you a suit, just in case if it ever came to it, and I was right," 

" It's nonflammable, so even you can't burn it, it also allows you to fight and it's black, so you can hide," he explained quickly. He handed her the suit and a black mask, much like Robin's mask. " You've got three minutes to change, honey," he said and kissed her cheek.

Five minutes later, they were inside a small black jet, speeding to Washington. Bruce opened a little hologramic screen to call the rest of the Leauge. " Are you coming?" Clark was the first one to respond.

" Yes," he replied. " Jordan is off-world but Jonn just arrived, how long until you arrive?" Clark asked again. " Ten minutes," Bruce replied again. " Have you figured their plan out yet?" Barry chimed into the call.

Bruce gave Skylar a look. " Yes," he started, " It's a ploy. While they are attacking, Lex is going to swoop in and save the day. And then he will start his propaganda on how metas can't be controlled and that they should be , including us," 

" What? That's insane," Barry exclaimed. " We need to stop these people without harming them, AND before Luthor shows up," Bruce said. " Too late, he's here," Diana said. Clark sighed. " Just get here as soon as you can, ten more metas showed up," 

After that Bruce ended the call and sped up the jet. " What's your plan?" Skylar asked. " I'm thinking on it," he replied. " All I know is that we need to get the situation under control before Luthor does, or he gets the upper hand," 

The fight was taking place near the Washington Monument so the fire had expanded. " Can you handle the fire? Keep it from spreading?" Bruce asked as he got up from his seat. " I think so," Skylar replied, she had never used her powers on something this big, but she had to now so she was going to find out. 

Then Bruce handed Skylar an earpiece, " Don't take this off, it'll help you communicate with us," he said. She nodded and put it on. He took a deep breath. " I know I can't keep you away, but, please, promise that you'll stay safe and let me know if something gets out of hand, okay?" he asked. She nodded again. " I promise," she said. 

"Good," he said then opened the door of the jet. " Good luck," he said and jumped out. Skylar took a deep breath and she jumped out of the jet as well. She was confident in herself and her abilities. 

She flew toward where she thought was the center of the fire was, so it'd be easier to distinguish it. After finding the center she took a deep breath and felt the power go through her body. She was a meta-human, who had the ability to control fire, or burst into fire when she wanted, she could handle a fire.

She imagined the fire retracting from the outer center to where she was levitating. As she was doing it, she felt this pressure on her body, the fire somehow resisting. " Cmon, Skylar, you can do it," she said to herself. 

After a minute or so, she actually saw the fire coming toward her and a smile appeared on her face. " Who's handling the fire?" someone asked through the earpiece and Skylar was pretty sure it was either Clark or Barry. 

" That would be me," she replied. " Skylar?" Clark asked, now she was able to recognize the voices, a hint of surprise in his tone. " Yes," she said again. Through the conversation, Skylar managed to draw the fire back to her, and now there was a massive fire around her. She flew to the top of it and started to diminish it with her hand. 

The fire started to get smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared. Skylar kneeled in the ground and took a deep breath. She had done it, she had actually done it. Then she heard the loud explosion. She levitated and flew there. 

It was on the roof on a building from where the Leauge was fighting with the metas and Skylar quickly spotted Bruce falling from the tip of the roof. She was sure he could manage it from there but she decided to help anyway and sped toward him and caught him. 

" Sky?" Bruce asked, surprised, as they flew. " Yes, honey?" Skylar asked back. " The fire?" he asked. " Taken care of," she replied. " Can you put me down please?" he asked again. She giggled, " Sure," she said then started to descend. 

When they were both on the ground she gave him a smirk. " What's my new task, boss?" she asked. Bruce grunted. " I think you've done your job," he said and Skylar jumped to the sky and sent a fireball to shreds of large ice aimed toward Bruce. 

" Fireballs?" Bruce asked. Skylar shrugged. " I guess," she replied then went back to her feet. " I just saved your ass, twice, give me a job," she shot. Bruce sighed. Then Flash appeared out of nowhere. " Ooh, lover's quarrel," he joked.

Skylar rolled her eyes while Bruce glared at him. " Civilian control," he finally said, pointing at Skylar. " Okay," she said excitedly and levitated again, quickly leaving Bruce and Barry on the ground. 

About fifteen minutes later of leading the civilians away or rescuing them from wherever they were trapped Bruce called for Skylar. When she went there, the Leauge was standing next to each other with about a dozen people. 

" There should be twenty metas attacking, we have sixteen," Bruce said. " Where are the remaining four?" Diana asked. " Found them," Barry sighed, pointing over to where someone was battling the four metas in a metal suit.

" Is that Luthor?" Skylar asked. " Yes," Clark gritted through his teeth. " He's putting on a show," Diana snickered. " It's his plan," Bruce sighed. " All shows must come to end, right?" Barry smirked and sped away. Diana and Clark joined him soon after.

Bruce turned to Skylar. " Make sure no one escapes," he said and started running toward the rest of them. She turned to the sixteen metas, sitting in a circle with their hands cuffed. She didn't know where they found the cuffs but she didn't question it and glued her eyes to them. 

Of course, someone tried to escape, so Skylar sent a fireball to where his next step would go and the guy jumped back. " Buddy, I wouldn't," she said to him. The guy looked scared as he went back to where he was originally standing. 

" You can't keep us here, you're alone," someone else said. Skylar sighed. " We'll see about that," she murmured and elevated off the ground, and on top of the circle. She then created a circle around the group with flames. It was like a cell of fire, if you can't fly or control the flames, you wouldn't be able to get out. 

With the metas under control, Skylar turned toward where the action was taking place. Lex Luthor's metal suit was on the ground and each Leauge member was handling a meta, except for the Martian Manhunter, which Skylar didn't see ever since she arrived. Although, Bruce mentioned that Martians weren't friendly with fire so Skylar thought that might be the reason. 

Within the next few minutes, all of them successfully managed to knock out their opponents and brought them back to where Skylar was standing next to a big fire circle. " What happened here?" Diana asked, amused.

Skylar shrugged. "Someone tried to run away, so I did this to prevent it," she replied. "That's hot," Barry commented, inspecting the flame walls. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Is it done then?" she asked. " Well, the fighting part, that sure is over," Clark said. 

Half an hour later, Lex Luthor had vanished with his suit, police arrived and taken the metahumans in for custody. Barry went to S.T.A.R. Labs in here to get them inhibitor collars to prevent them from using their powers to break out. 

Skylar walked toward Bruce as she eyed the metas being taken in. " What's going to happen to them?" she asked. She knew that most of them weren't guilty, they were forced. God knows that if somethings happened differently she could've been among those metas. 

" Police are going to interrogate them, they'll probably get sent to S.T.A.R. Labs for rehabilitation again instead of getting charged," he said then sighed, " That is, of course, Luthor doesn't push his propaganda, then I'm afraid it's not gonna look good for them," he said.

Skylar took a deep breath as she imagined how different her life could be, she could be cuffed right now, and on her way to jail. She tried to shake away the feeling. " I hope he doesn't," she quietly said to Bruce.

The rest of the Leauge approached them. " Okay, now that this is handled, tell us the exact plan," Clark said to Bruce. " It's called the 'Project Extermination', I'm guessing the name is done for us. Luthor convinced other people to follow his plan as well, like Mandragora and Joker, in which some would create distractions so Mandragora and his men could kidnap metahumans and train them. Luthor would get them examined, give the names to Mandragora and he would take care of it. After this staged attack, he planned to save the day with his technology, push his narrative of how metahumans cannot be trusted, and could get out of control, posing a threat to people and their security. He'd secure a deal with the government, push a bill to control them, and use all of that to 'exterminate' the Justice Leauge. In the long run, everyone on his side gets a win, which is the freedom to do what they wanted and what I think persuaded everyone else to join him too," he explained. 

" Damn," Barry said, " He really is a mad man," he said under his breath. " What's to keep him from pushing his agenda after this? Everyone saw him fighting," Diana said. " They saw you guys winning too," Skylar added. Diana gave her a smile. 

" We need to get ahead of this, somehow," Clark said. " Any idea?" he asked as he turned to Bruce. " Can't you guys out him? You have the files and everything, expose him," Skylar said, it seemed like the only logical thing to do.

Jonn shook his head. " I'm afraid Miss Jones that is not an option," he said, " Because Luthor would surely find a way to turn this over and, how you humans say, play the victim," he added. " We can't just let him go," Diana exclaimed. " And we won't," Clark said. " We'll have a press release tomorrow, explaining the situation but leaving out some parts. I'll deal with Luthor on my own,"

" Good, now that it's over, we need to go back to Gotham," Bruce said as he pressed a button on his belt. Within a minute the jet they came in hovered over them and descended behind the group. 

" Bye guys!" Barry shouted after Bruce and Skylar. " America's dream couple, good night!"


	26. Twenty Six

Three weeks passed since Luthor's attack on Washington. In that time Bruce and Dick continued training Skylar and she had gotten better at it. Obviously she wasn't at the same level as neither Dick or Bruce, but she at least knew some moves now.

Other than that Bruce and Dick got into the detail of Luthor's plan and then shared it with the Leauge. Many know criminals whom the Leauge was up against were involved in the long term result of destroying the Justice Leauge since without them their jobs would be a hell lot of easier.

Luckily that was evaded until a certain point. Luthor still gave a speech on the TV about the dangers of the metahumans and how the government should be controlling them, but so far, fortunately, it didn't attract much attention.

In the meantime, Bruce managed to find the Riddler and locked him up in Arkham. Many of their problems had been solved now and they've mainly gone back to their normal lives, as normal as it could be.

Skylar was still a barista and she was starting to get the hang of it which was a bonus since she was a usual caffeine addict, same as all the other college students. The pressure was now off of everyone around her, Bruce was more relaxed since he found Luthor's plan and the Riddler, Gavin wasn't scared anymore, he was getting back on his feet and he even got a girlfriend.

This prosperity benefited Skylar as well, she no longer felt scared and was truly happy. Her relationship with Bruce was a healthy and a strong one, they didn't have any problems which she was glad.

Even though she didn't want to admit there was always this little voice inside of her head saying that she should be careful, he had a certain reputation and all. Skylar learned not to connect everything to Bruce's reputation from the last accident in which she thought Bruce was ghosting her in reality when he was just being Batman. She knew that he trusted him, he had revealed his secret identity and let her in, completely.

That lingering voice was gone for a long time until they met her parents, in which her mother had a talk with Skylar privately while Bruce offered to help her dad with their car's engine. She warned him to be careful, since along with everyone else, she knew of Bruce's reputation. Skylar assured her that their relationship wasn't like that and he was to be trusted. Her mother was just trying to look out for her, Skylar got that, but for some reason, her mom had her suspicious.

Skylar trusted Bruce, with all of her heart. She knew that he would never intentionally do something to hurt her, in any way. So it was a bummer for her when the little suspicion awakened inside her brain made her question some things going on.

For example, when he would get some phone calls and abruptly leave the room, even when they were in Wayne Manor and go to talk in secret. Later Skylar found out that it was Clark, and they were talking about Clark's proposal to Lois.

They also celebrated Dick's birthday the last weekend, he was turning thirteen. He said that he didn't want a big thing, just a small gathering kind of thing. Skylar suggested that Bruce invite Barbara, since he mentioned his 'friendship' to her plenty of times before.

They decided to have a barbecue in the garden and it turned out fine. Bruce, Skylar, Dick, and Barbara played basketball together and then had a cake fight after Sklyar pressed Dick's head into the cake after he blew out the candles. Once the party ended and Barbara went home they spent the night watching the rest of the Harry Potter movies as a marathon since he read rest of the books now. In moments like that Skylar really felt like she belonged, like that they were a family and she was truly happy.

That Monday morning Skylar stayed at the Wayne Manor since they celebrated Dick's birthday the day before. When she woke up it was around 7 AM and the bed was empty so she figured Bruce was either taking a shower or having breakfast.

She got out of the bed and put around one of Bruce's robes that he let her use when she stayed over and made her way over to the kitchen. As expected, Bruce was sitting at the table with a coffee cup and a croissant with his laptop open in front of him.

" Morning," Skylar said as she walked in and grabbed a cup of coffee for herself as well. " Good morning sunshine," he replied with a smile. She smirked at the nickname and instantly got reminded of the time he first called her sunshine and she freaked out. She silently chuckled at the memory by herself and walked toward him.

" What are you working on?" she asked. " The income reports of some of our overseas companies," he murmured then looked up at her, " Come, take a look," he said and slid his chair back a bit, allowing some room for her and then reached his hand out.

Skylar took his hand and he pulled her down to his lap and then adjusted the screen for her to see. " What am I supposed to be looking at exactly?" she asked as her eyes roamed the numbers and charts. " Tell me what you see," he said drinking from his coffee.

" The profit margin is down in South America, especially in Argentina and Chile, the numbers don't add up," she started to say then gasped," Someone is skimming the revenue!" she exclaimed and turned to Bruce.

He slowly nodded his head. " Yes, just wanted to make sure," he murmured and Skylar couldn't help but smirk, " So you asked me?" she played. His lips twirled. " I thought it was a good teaching moment, is it not?"

Skylar rolled her eyes. " Sneaky," she said. He shrugged, " I trust your judgment and wanted to see what you thought of it," he explained. " Alright, what are you going to do about it? It obviously can't go on,"

Bruce laid back on the chair, " I'll start by questioning the managers who are responsible for those areas, then I'm making a phone call to the managers down there, don't worry, it's not harder than anything else I do,"

" Okay," she replied and leaned in for a quick kiss. " Will you give me a ride to the coffee shop on your way to work?" she asked after. He nodded, " Sure, when do you need to go in?" he asked with a smirk. Skylar turned around and looked at the screen to see the time.

" Ugh, in an hour," she sighed. Bruce smiled as he put his hand on her back softly, " How about around 9?" he asked. Skylar furrowed her brows as she looked at him confused only to see his playful look. " What, why 9? It's 7.15". He smirked, " I might have a couple of things in mind to do," 

Sadly, Skylar couldn't make it at 9, or 10 and neither did Bruce.

Just as they were getting ready to go to work an alarm had gone off and informed them that something was happening. Bruce rushed down to the cave and Skylar followed him. Turns out, someone called Mr.Freeze just broke into Gotham Natural History Museum.

" There was a new transfer, an old diamond, worth a lot of money," Bruce murmured as he eyed the screen. He then abruptly turned around and walked to go change. Skylar looked at the screen, Bruce had hacked into the security footage from the museum. Mr.Freeze was frosting people with his gun, there were five people in ice so far. The security was shooting their guns at him, but it didn't do any damage.

Minutes later Bruce walked past her, now in full Batman attire, and started pressing some buttons on the keyboard. " You can use my help," Skylar said. He turned to her, " What?" he responded.

She pointed to the screen, " Ice," she said then pointed at herself and made out a small fireball, " Fire," she added. " I'm his opposite, I can be useful, and if anything, I can help melt the people trapped inside the ice,"

Bruce sighed. " Are you sure is this what you want?" he asked. She furrowed her brows, " What do you mean?" she asked back. He shrugged, " You asking me to train for you, I got that, you wanted to know how to protect yourself and when you asked to come to Washington, I got that too, you wanted revenge and help stop the people who were responsible for what happened to you, but this, this is unrelated to anything, and I'm asking you if this is what you really want to be doing?"

Skylar chewed on her bottom lip. She now accepted the fact that she couldn't change her past or anything that had happened to her but she could take the advantage of it. She now had powers and she was getting trained, with all of the things she had it felt wrong for her to sit idly by when she could be doing something to help, in any way.

" Yes, it is," she finally said and looked into his eyes, " Is that a problem?" she added. He didn't reply but kept looking at her. She didn't break the eye contact, in fact she kept giving him a stern look, as if it was a stare-off to show her determination.

" No, it's not, if that's what you truly want," he said at the end. She couldn't help but smile a little, " Really? No objections? No 'you're not ready yet'?" she asked baffled. He sighed. " You're not ready yet, but you're right, you can help with the civilians, plus, you were good at taking my orders the last time, as long as you do that, I don't think we'll have a problem,"

Five minutes later they were in the Batmobile riding to the museum. Skylar had changed into the suit that Bruce made for her. " Are you mad?" she asked on the way. " Why would I be?" he asked. " I don't know, this is your thing, am I forcing myself into it, I kinda feel like it,"

" Sky, I told you, if that's what you want I know that I can't stop you, I can only make sure you don't get hurt by training you and being by your side," he said then took a deep breath, " I know that this thing isn't for anyone, that's true, your friend Gavin, he can't handle it, it's obvious, but I know you, you're strong, you're rational, you've got what it takes, just need more training,"

Her face had lightened up with his words. " Really?" she asked excitedly. " Yeah, and I'm not the only one who thinks that," he added. " Wait, what does that mean?" Skylar asked but Bruce tilted his head as he hit the brakes.

" That's a talk for another time, we're here," he said and jumped out of the car. She followed him. " Can you take us to the roof?" he asked. She nodded and grabbed his hand and started to fly.

Each time she used her powers, especially flying, she got better at it. She put Bruce down to the roof and landed next to him. Bruce immediately walked to the glass rooftops and took out something from his belt.

It was a small circular device. He put it on the glass and it started to draw a circle and when it was done he grabbed the device and took out a big circle gap from the rooftop. " That's so cool," Skylar said and she saw him smirk.

" I'll handle Mr.Freeze, you make sure he doesn't get to anyone else and help the people evacuate," Bruce ordered. " As you wish, sir," Skylar replied jokingly. She could spot the little twirl in his lips.

Bruce jumped inside the gap and landed right behind Mr.Freeze. Skylar flew inside from the gap and since the guy was distracted by Batman, she quickly landed next to the security. "Have you called the police?" she asked them.

The guy standing closest to her nodded as he trembled. " Yes, we notified them, should be here soon," he answered. " Good, I need you guys to get out of here, we're handling it, is there anyone else here than you?" she asked.

" There was a school trip, in the back exhibit, we don't know if they got out," another guard said. " Where is the exhibit?" she asked him. He then pointed toward the hall. " Okay, I'll go take a look, you guys get out,"

After that, she quickly flew to where the guard was pointing. Once she first got in, she didn't see anything, it seemed empty. But then someone sneezed so she lifted off the ground to see the whole room better.

In the end, she saw a woman kneeled behind a big glass unit with five children. She landed a few feet away from them and put up her hands up to signal she wasn't there to hurt them as the woman whom Skylar assumed was the teacher held the kids tighter.

" Hey, hey, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm here to help," she said softly. "I'll help you get out of here, "she continued. A loud bang came out from the room next door, where Batman was with Mr.Freeze.

The teacher looked in the direction with fear in her eyes. " Follow me, I'll get you out, I promise," she said and the woman nodded, getting up and holding hands with two of her students. There was a big window on the top of the wall that led to the side garden of the museum.

Skylar elevated and opened the window. She then got back to the teacher and the students. " Now I will take all of you out one by one," she said and grabbed one of the students. She flew, got outside through the window, and put the kid down.

The kids were small, probably couldn't be older than 9 or 10, so they were fairly easy to carry. She repeated the process. There was now only the teacher and one girl left. As Skylar picked her up the wall came crashing down.

Batman was thrown through the wall and Mr.Freeze stepped inside. He quickly spotted Skylar and the little girl. He pointed his gun at them and shot at them. Skylar quickly turned around and as she did, she sent up a fireball from the blast's direction.

Once she heard the sound she turned back around to see that her fireball did diminish the blast from the gun. She quickly elevated again and put the girl down. Then she went back in and sent another fireball toward Mr.Freeze.

That saved enough time for Batman to get up and get his attention. At that time, Skylar took the teacher out. " That's everyone, right?" she asked the woman. She nodded. " Yes, thank you, so much," the woman replied.

Skylar smiled. " The cops must have arrived by now, go around the building and you should be safe," she said. The teacher nodded and grabbed her students' hands again and started to walk. The little girl she saved turned around and ran to Skylar. She gave her a big hug. " Thank you for saving us Firegirl," she said in an innocent tone.

Skylar was shocked at the little girl, she couldn't respond, so she just smiled. She watched after her and her friends as they disappeared from her eyesight. " Firegirl, huh? Kinda has a nice ring to it," she mumbled to herself before going inside again.

Batman was fighting with Mr.Freeze and Skylar realized they needed to get his gun away from him. Without it, Bruce would be able to get close enough to finish him off. Suddenly an idea hit her. " Batman, get away from him," she shouted.

Bruce turned to her. " What?" he shouted back. " I've got a plan, trust me!" she replied. Bruce gave her a look and as he saw her determination on her eyes once again he jumped back swiftly. Skylar took a deep breath and sent a fire blast toward Mr.Freeze.

The fire circled him around and Skylar jumped inside the circle. " What is this?" he asked Skylar. She smirked as she put her hands up and controlled the fire around them, covering around them and connecting the fire above them. They were inside a big flame now.

" Fire melts ice buddy, you're done," she said. Mr.Freeze furrowed his brows, " Let's see if you'll be able to talk smack once you're frozen," he smugly said and pointed his gun toward Skylar. She stood still, hoping her theory would work.

He shot the gun a couple of times but nothing happened. " I don't understand," he whispered to himself. " I figured your gun wouldn't be able to produce the ice it does in a heightened temperature, am I right?" Skylar mocked.

Soon he dropped the gun on the floor in an instant. " And metal transmits heat, I'm sure it's too hot to hold it," she said as she started walking toward him and the fire circle started to get smaller with each step she took. Once she came close enough to the gun she grabbed it. " Have fun in jail," she said along with a smirk and stepped outside of the circle.

" I've got the gun," she said to Bruce. " Good work, can you help the security stuck inside the ice?" he asked. " On it," she said as she ran toward the other room and released the fire circle to let Batman handle Mr.Freeze.

She put the gun down and pressed her palms to the big stock of ice. " Cmon, you can do this," she whispered to herself and felt the fire slowly coming out of her hands and melt the ice. In a couple of minutes, Skylar was standing in the middle of a puddle with the security guard gasping for air.

Later that day, after going to her work and begging her boss not to fire her, Skylar went back home. She was exhausted because her boss had her work her extra hard for the hours she had missed. But the adrenalin from the earlier part of the day still got her energized.

She had just gotten out of the shower and threw some comfortable clothes and laid on her sofa when she grabbed her phone for what felt like the first time that day. She had a couple of texts from Dick.

" OMFG!!!"

" Heard you kicked some major ass today grandma!!!!"

" I've taught you well"

" Who knew grandma's rocked??????"

Skylar chuckled at the texts and sent a quick reply to them. Then her phone rang, it was Bruce. " Hey," she opened the phone. " Hi, have you eaten dinner yet?" he asked. " No, I didn't, why?" she answered. " Alfred told me he was cooking some salmon tonight, apparently they're fresh and at the start of the season, he asked me to invite you over,"

" Alright, I'm in," she replied. " Great, because I'm five minutes away from your apartment," he said and she chuckled. " Of course you are, I'll be down right away," she responded and after ending the call she got up and changed into something more casual.

When they got to the Wayne Manor they found the table set for two. " Master Grayson and I have already eaten, he's in the training room and I have some work to attend to," Alfred had said and left the two alone.

Bruce smirked. " Classic Alfred," he mumbled. " Does he do this often?" Skylar asked, a bit confused. He rolled his tongue as they sat down. " Yeah, I guess," he said. "Hm," she replied as she took a sip of the water in front of her.

It wasn't a surprise to 'find out' Bruce had other girlfriends before her, that wasn't a problem. Skylar obviously had been in other relationships before him. But he always said that the 'relationships' he had been in were mostly due to keeping his cover and didn't mean anything. She truly believed Bruce and that she was among the few people he let in, there was no doubt about that, but it did make her wonder how many got close.

" So, how did your boss take it?" Bruce asked. She shrugged. " He was pissed, as expected, he canceled my day off next week, but at least I've still got a job," she replied. " That's good," he mumbled.

" Anyway, we didn't have a chance to talk thoroughly, but, good job today," he said. She smiled. " Thanks," she replied. " I told you that you've got what it takes, I was impressed today by you taking initiative like that. You took the hostages out, helped the guards and outsmarted Mr.Freeze, it's not everyone can do in their first time," he said.

She kept smiling and even blushing a bit as he kept on talking. " We have been talking among us for a while, and we were wondering if you officially wanted to be a part of the Leauge," he said. Skylar dropped her fork in shock.

" Wait! What? Me? Part of the Justice Leauge? Me?" she exclaimed. Bruce chuckled. " Yes," he said. " Diana and Barry were the first to pitch the idea, after Washington. Then the others jumped on the train after today. Frankly, I agree,"

She furrowed her brows as she tried to digest what he was saying. " Wow," she whispered under her breath and then looked up. " Are you sure? I'm not ready," she said. Bruce chuckled. " You saying yes doesn't automatically mean the world is going to end tomorrow babe, and I'll keep training you. Besides, I've only been training you about a month, and you spent a month in Themyscira, learning to use your powers and you're already proved you can do the job, twice,"

She scratched the back of her neck nervously. " I don't know," she mumbled. He sighed and got up. " Cmon, I want to show you something," he said. She looked at him confused but got up anyway and followed him.

They went down into the cave. He walked straight toward the right, where the display for the suits stood. He stood in front of the last one, the one left to that one stood Dick's Robin suit. He stepped away and Skylar looked inside.

It was her suit and mask. She looked into it in awe. " Look, I know I'm not the trusty type, I don't trust people easily and I'm very skeptical when it comes to involving someone new in the operations. But I trust you Sky, and I know you've got what it takes and it's what you want,"

He then stood behind Skylar and put his hands on her shoulders. " Diana told me a bit of your time in Themyscira, how you sometimes looked at the fighters there, in a way, longingly, like how you were kind of picturing yourself in their position. After she told me that I wasn't genuinely surprised to hear you ask me to train you. I could sense something would follow it, so I built you the suit. I knew a situation could arise when you needed to use it, and it did. Twice. A week ago and today. That's why I asked you earlier this morning whether this was what you truly wanted. And seeing the confidence in you, that was enough proof for me, even if you're reluctant right now, you know that it is what you want too,"

She took a deep breath. She did feel bad when she was doing nothing when she could and the fact that she had 'Batman' by her side made a huge difference. And today, helping those students and the teacher, it really touched inside of her. Especially that little girl and her hug.

She didn't do it because of the praise she got afterward but for the pure purpose of helping. And seeing that, she did indeed, was useful in any way and probably helped saved lives today made up for everything.

And Bruce hadn't been anything but supportive since the beginning. He never rejected her or said she couldn't do anything. He agreed to train her, accepted to bring her to Washington and to the museum. He really did trust her to do it.

She turned around and faced him. " Cmon weren't you the one telling we needed more female members in the Leauge anyway?" he asked jokingly. She playfully rolled her eyes. " I think I distinctly remember you saying that dating within the team always leads to disaster," she said as she crossed her arms and gave him a challenging look.

He snickered. " Yeah, I do think that," he said, " And it's because when they break up there's always tension lingering, 'drama' as you would say it," he added. Skylar raised her right brow and Bruce slid his hands down to her waist and pulled her closer.

" But it's different for us," he said. " How is it different us, please do tell Mr.Wayne," She responded flirtatiously. He smirked and grabbed one of her hands and brought it to his lips, kissing the top of it. " Oh, Miss Jones, I don't ever intend on letting you go,"

Skylar became flustered as blood rushed to her cheeks in an instant and her heart skipped a beat hearing his last words. She gave out a small chuckle. " You really know your way around a woman Mr.Wayne," she said. His lips twirled " Was there ever really a doubt about it?"

" On a more serious note, we can talk about this all you want, on all aspects, but I believe in you, so the offer's on the table, it's up to you," he said. She nodded. " I love you," she said finally. He smiled. " I love you,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! As I was writing I had divided the story into two parts in my mind. This is the end of part one. The next chapter will be the start of part two and there will be a slight time jump. There will be domestic Wayne Family and stronger relationships between characters. The reason I divided it into two parts in my mind was that in part one I solely wanted to focus on the relationship-building mainly between Skylar and Bruce. The 'part two' as I call it will be filled with more action/drama, keep reading to find out more :)


	27. Twenty Seven

* 2 Years Later* 

Skylar turned around on the bed and took a deep breath. " That. Was. Amazing." she breathed out. Bruce chuckled as he gently started to massage her back. " Was it ever non-satisfactory?" he asked playfully.

She turned her around to face him. " You know what I mean," she said, rolling her eyes. He smirked. " I do now, you made a sound I've never heard before," he said and she gasped then immediately giggled as she hit him. " I guess I was really in the mode then," 

" Not that I'm complaining, but, you've been in the mode for it plenty recently," he said. She furrowed her brows. " What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged. " You know that we've been at it recently more than we usually do, right?" 

Skylar bit down on her bottom lip. " Have we?" she asked. He nodded. " We have, again, I'm not complaining, just pointing it out," he said. " Huh," Skylar said as she started to list the times they had sex recently.

There was certainly an increase in her want for sex, she continually found herself aroused more than usual in the last weeks but she thought it was because of after starting to work at Wayne Enterprises as an intern and completely independent from Bruce, her boss had definitely made her work hard and she resolved the work tension by sex. 

Seeing Bruce from time to time at the office and pretending like they weren't together in order not to compromise Skylar's position was a mutual decision, but hot damn, seeing him working in that suit all professional got her all fired up. That new cologne he got wasn't helping either.

There was also the fact that she was now a full-time Leauge member, the Leauge had expanded greatly in the last two years, but the increasing numbers didn't mean fewer responsibilities and the ability to control fire came in handy more than one would think so, so Skylar had another quite busy job too. Which only got her tense too, and the solution was the same as the other.

" Well, I am sorry you are so darn irresistible," she joked. Bruce leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. " You're the one to talk," he said. She chuckled at him. " Anyway, we better get some sleep now, we have work in a couple of hours," she yawned.

He was the one to chuckle now. " We could have gotten an extra hour of sleep if not for," he started to say but she shushed him off and he smirked. " Fine, fine," he said playfully.

A lot had changed in Skylar's life in the past two years. She had graduated from Gotham University with both of her majors and a pretty good GPA. Because of her resume, she got hired at Wayne Enterprises immediately.

She did tell Bruce that she didn't want any special treatment, to treat her ordinarily during work. She didn't want people thinking she got to where she was because she was technically dating the boss, no, she got where she was because of what she had done. 

Bruce had agreed, he was aware of how women were usually treated in workplaces and although he still did his best to change that mindset in his business, he sadly had no power over how people chose to believe a woman was only successful because of her connections to a man rather than simply because of their intelligence and talent.

So, the only people who knew Skylar was Bruce's girlfriend at work were Claire, Gavin, and Lucius Fox. He was Bruce's right-hand man at Wayne Enterprises and the one who handled the business when Bruce had 'other' things he needed to take care of. Lucius was aware of everything and he was helping Bruce a lot. But neither he nor Bruce had anything to do with Skylar being hired at Wayne Enterprises.

She simply applied on her own and the paperwork went through the minor executives, they called her in for interviews and she never came face to face with neither of them during the process. So she was now working for someone called Jimmy who worked for Gavin. 

Other than that, about eight months ago Bruce asked her to move in with him and she said yes. She was now a permanent resident of the Wayne Manor. It wasn't a big change per se since he was training her and she'd go out patrolling with Batman and Robin, she spent a fair amount there already. 

Being a 'superhero' wasn't as scary as she thought it would, especially with her joining the Leauge and all. She was obviously shy once she first accepted the offer but everyone was nice and kind enough and soon she stopped feeling out of place. New people joined the Leauge soon after so Skylar was no longer the 'new kid on the block'. 

The only strange thing was to see Bruce in his usual behavior when they were around people, the cold and only-speak-when-necessary reputation he had and Skylar was told constantly at the start of their relationship, she had seen that. It was hard to imagine him being like that until she actually saw it herself because when they were together he was lively. 

Skylar's life was perfect the way it was then, everything was in place and she was truly happy. 

Skylar had been talking to some associates on the cubicles about some files when her phone rang. She opened it without looking at the caller, she had many people calling while she was working since she was still an intern and ran the errands.

" Skylar Jones," she opened the phone as Jeniffer put the file she asked for on the table. " You look hot," the voice said through the phone. Skylar mouthed a thank you to Jeniffer as she grabbed the file and turned around confused.

Within a minute she spotted Bruce leaning against the elevator and looking at her. She smirked and looked away, not wanting anyone else to catch up on it. " Like what you see?" she said seductively into the phone. 

" Very," he replied. Her lips twirled and she blushed. It had been a little over two years but she still felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. " Is there a point to this sudden compliment call or is this just you being you?" she asked and turned to his direction slightly.

She saw him shrugging and smiling slightly. " I wanted to hear your voice," he replied. She took a quick glance at her watch. " We get off work in a couple of hours, you couldn't wait?" she bantered. He sighed. " I could, I just didn't," 

" Seems like your work on this floor is done, would you like to join me in the elevator?" he asked smoothly. She took a deep breath. " Sure," she replied and made her way slowly to where he was standing as she ended the call.

Although no one else was waiting for the elevator there were still people passing by. " Mr.Wayne," she greeted him formally. " Miss Jones," he replied charismatically. They shared a quick smile.

This was something they'd occasionally do. Quick smiles and glances when they passed each other in the halls. Bruce calling her from afar and complimenting her. Calling each other Mr.Wayne and Miss Jones like they used to. 

Just as the elevator made a sound, alerting that it was opening the doors Skylar's earpiece activated. " Firegirl, we need you to come in," Jonn said through the device. Yes, Skylar had chosen to use the nickname that little girl gave her, it was simple yet beautiful.

She subtly touched the earpiece as she and Bruce stepped inside and the doors closed. " What is it?" she asked in a more serious tone. Bruce had picked up something was happening. " An explosion in a chemical factory. There's a big fire and the factory is close to the forest. Wonder Woman and Flash are on their way but they could use your help, I am sending the coordinates," Jonn replied.

Skylar turned to Bruce to explain the situation but he was quicker than her. He took the files from her hand and flashed her a smile. " I'll let Gavin know you're out of the office for work," he said. She smiled. " Thanks, honey, see you when I get back," she said just as when the elevator doors opened up to Bruce's floor. He gave her a quick smile before walking out.

When Skylar got to where the factory was the fire was even bigger than she had imagined. Diana was rescuing the workers from inside the building and Barry was trying to contain the fire from spreading by running around it, trying to cut the oxygen to it. 

She flew close to him. " I've got this, go help Diana," she said to him. " Took you long enough to come, partner," Barry said to her before speeding away. She chuckled to herself before flying off again.

She started to fly around the fire and tried to draw it to one place to eventually put it out. She had gotten extremely better at her abilities and Bruce was, once again, the man to thank for that. Not only he was training her in martial arts but he was also helping her control over fire. 

After stopping the spread of the massive fire she then started to felt her power take over and command the fire. It was a strange feeling, the rush she got when she was controlling the fire. She put her palms out, it helped her concentrate and made it easier to control it, and imagined the fire extinguishing. 

Once the fire had completely gone out she touched her earpiece once again. " I'm done, do you guys need help?" she asked. " Yes, the basement," Barry said. " The fire burnt down the doors and some workers are trapped in there," he explained.

" I would have broken it down but I don't particularly feel like walking into the fire," Diana said. " Sounds like a job for 'girl on fire'," Barry mocked. Skylar chuckled. " Alright, I'm on it," she responded and rushed inside the factory and the basement. 

Flames had covered the hall and because of the explosion a big piece out of the roof had fallen down before the door, making it impossible for the workers to get out. Skylar first put out the flames. 

The next obstacle was the piece of concrete fallen from the roof. Now, she knew she wasn't as strong as Superman, Wonder Woman, or the Martian Manhunter, but all the training she had made her stronger than the usual human and she was confident she could move it enough to open the door. 

She stepped between the door and the concrete, pressed her back against the door and put her legs against the concrete, and started to pull it away. It was hard but after a couple of tries and a few sweats she managed to do it. 

Then she tried to open the door. But to her luck, it was stuck. She took a deep breath. " Hey! Can you hear me?" she shouted toward the door. She got a bunch of 'yes's. " Okay, step away from the door," she shouted and counted to five. 

After reaching five she sent a blast to the door, strong enough to break it open but not strong enough to harm anyone. She stepped on the door and got inside. " Is there anyone else?" she asked. The guy shook his head. " No, we were the only ones down here," 

She nodded. " Okay, let's go," she said and then motioned for them to follow her as she safely guided the workers out of the factory and where the police and medical responders were waiting. 

Once she got out she saw Wonder Woman and Flash standing between the police and the ambulances and she made her way over there. " Is that it then?" she asked. Diana nodded. "Yes, we got everyone out and stopped the fire from spreading," she said. 

Barry quickly sped between the two women and put his arms around them. " I'd say the three of us make a great team, don't you agree?" he asked with a smirk. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Sure, pal," she started to say but stopped with the infuriating smell coming from her stomach.

She quickly looked around and spotted a trash can and ran there. The second she made it near the can she started vomiting. Diana and Barry came to her aid in a flash. Skylar hated vomiting. Of course, no one liked to vomit, but she had a very sensitive stomach so it happened often. And she hated it.

Once she was done she took a step back from the garbage to take a deep breath and hopefully not the smell the vomit, so it won't trigger a part two. " Wow, wow, are you okay?" Barry asked, his playful tone had vanished.

She nodded. " Yeah, yeah. I've been pulling a lot of late nights at the office lately, not getting enough rest and must've eaten something I shouldn't have, I'll be okay," she explained. "Are you sure? You look pretty pale," Diana said.

Skylar took a deep breath. " Yeah, I'm sure," she said. Then she stood up straight. " Seriously, guys, I'll be okay, I just have a very sensitive stomach," she said. They didn't look very convinced but let it go. 

" Fine, but at least let me give you a ride back to Gotham on the jet, it's on my way anyway," Diana said. "I wouldn't object to that," Skylar replied. " Alright then, ladies, take care, Flash out," Barry said and sped away. 

Once Skylar got home she immediately went to take a shower and afterward put on baggy clothes and threw herself to the bed. Bruce had bought a TV for the bedroom so they could keep on watching movies when they were in bed and stuff, so she opened it started watching it without paying much attention, resting.

" Rough day?" Bruce asked entering the room with a short and a tank top. He was probably coming from training himself. " Yeah," Skylar replied not moving a muscle as her body got lost within the fluff of the bed and the sheets. " How was work?" 

Bruce shrugged. " You know, same old," he said and laid next to Skylar on the bed. " What are we watching?" he asked. " Just some sit-com, I'm trying to rest," she replied. " Yeah, heard about what happened," he said.

Skylar half turned to him and snickered. " Of course you did," she said. He gave a faint smile. " Are you sure everything okay?" he asked. His tone was softer. She nodded. " Yeah, I told Diana and Barry too, you know I have a sensitive stomach. Take-out food isn't nearly good as Alfred's cooking," she said and they chuckled at the last part.

" That much is true," he said, " If work is too much, I can always talk to-," he continued but Skylar shushed him off. " No, I'm an intern, I have the same workload as the other interns, I need to do it by the normal standards, just like the others," she defended herself.

He sighed. " Yes, but the other interns aren't Firegirl," he fought back. " You're Batman and you do it," she shot and smiled to herself as Bruce gave her a look knowing he couldn't make a better comeback. " Fine, fine, you win," he finally said and she gave out a victorious chuckle.

After that, she snuggled toward him. " I think I'll sleep for the day, would you guys okay going out to patrol without me?" she asked. Bruce leaned down and kissed her temple. " Of course, whatever you need," he said.

They watched TV for a while. " You haven't forgotten about the event tomorrow night, right?" he murmured to her ear. Her eyes got shot open and she turned to her. " Oh shoot! The celebration of Wayne Enterprises' new launch," she mumbled. " Yup," he murmured again with a smirk. 

" Don't worry, we can leave right after the announcement and some chit-chat," he said. " Okay," she murmured and they continued to watch some TV hugging each other until Bruce went out for patrol.


	28. Twenty Eight

The next morning everything started out great. Skylar was no longer feeling like crap, she didn't have nausea or anything and actually felt very energized. Sadly, that lasted about for thirty minutes or so, and as she was getting ready for work in the bathroom she suddenly felt very hot.

There was a tingling sensation in her stomach. It was burning and she felt it coming up. " Oh, god, no," she mumbled and ran to the toilet and started throwing up again. Once she was done she sat on the floor, grabbed a towel, and wiped her sweat. 

After that, she got up and washed her face with cold water. Something was definitely up. With a sigh, she made her way to the kitchen. Alfred and Bruce were in the kitchen when she arrived. " Good morning Alfred," she greeted him.

" Good morning Miss Jones," he said as he handed Skylar her coffee. She mouthed a quick thanks and sat down on the table and turned to Bruce. " I threw up again," she said. Bruce's face immediately hardened. "Are you alright?" he asked. She shook her head. " I don't know, I think I need to go see the doctor," she said.

Last time when she got like this, it was due to her allergies, Bruce had found this doctor who helped a lot. " I'll call Dr.Smith for an appointment right away," Alfred said after sharing a quick glance with Bruce and then he walked out.

" What have you eaten recently?" he asked softly. She shrugged. " Um, four days ago I ordered sushi from the corner, the next day James, Mary, and I went to the pizza place on the fifth for lunch, and yesterday I had some special salad," she replied. 

He tilted his head. " Hm," he breathed out, " Could be any of them," he said. " I know," Skylar sighed. Bruce put his hand over Skylar's. " Don't worry, I'm sure Dr.Smith will solve whatever problem you have," he said.

" I know, but this couldn't come up at a worse time, I mean, aside from all the Leauge business I'm really stressed about work. I've heard that there might be two new positions opening up, and I know we can't talk about it cause then it would be compromised, but I really want to know if I'll get promoted to them or keep being an intern. There are eight of us and only two positions, it's a twenty-five percent chance," 

Bruce laid back on his chair. " Maybe it's due to you under being stress," he offered. She shrugged. " Maybe, I don't know, everyone's under stress," she replied. Bruce lightly squeezed her hand. " True, but we both know you have a habit of overcompensating," 

Skylar gave him a quick glare but smiled soon after. " Hey, no need to call me out buddy," she shot. He chuckled. " Sorry," he mumbled. Right then Alfred walked back inside. " Your appointment has been made for 10 AM," he announced.

She didn't feel the need to ask 'today?' because she already knew. When Bruce Wayne called, or someone on behalf of him called, you always said yes. So she wasn't surprised. " Alright, thanks Alfred," she said then turned to Bruce again. " I'll give Gavin a call and tell him I'll come in late," she said.

After that she phoned Gavin. She wasn't scared of waking him up, he must've been up, he had transformed into an early bird in the last year. " Good morning fugitive," he answered the phone. Skylar chuckled. " Good morning to you too boss, how are you?" she asked.

" I'm good, how are you?" he asked back. " Eh, not so good actually," she replied. " What? Is everything alright?" his tone had changed instantly. Skylar chewed on her bottom lip, for some unknown reason she was always uncomfortable making these kinds of calls. 

She sighed. " I don't know, I've been feeling sickly, I have a doctor's appointment today at 10, I'll probably be at the office by 11, just wanted to let you know," she explained. " Hmm, is that why you left early yesterday as well?" he asked. " Sure," Skylar lied, it was a good cover-up.

" Man, now I feel bad for calling you a fugitive. You know what? Just be at the office after lunch, don't rush it," he said. She chuckled at his remark. " Okay, thanks," 

Once her phone call was done she turned to Bruce again. " I've got permission," she said. " I've heard," he replied ina light tone. " Would you like me to come with you?" he followed up almost immediately. 

She shook her head. In normal terms, she'd love that because ever since she was a kid she never liked to visit the doctor alone. But she knew he was extra busy today with the launch coming up and she didn't want to be an obstacle over his work.

" No, I can go, besides you have a meeting at 10.30 with the board, don't you?" she asked. He sighed. " I do, but I can postpone it," he offered. She gave him a look. " Bruce, today is an important day, I know you must have a bunch of things to do. Don't worry, it's just the doctor," she pleaded.

He sighed. " Fine, if you say so," he mumbled. She smiled. " You should stop worrying about that and instead focus on the speech you are supposed to be giving, have you finished it yet?" she asked, changing the topic.

" Yeah, I mean, it's almost done, then I'll send it to the guys to revise it," he answered. " Sounds like a plan mister," she said then got up. " I'll get out of your way and rest for a while before I go out," she said.

Bruce grabbed her hand and pulled her close. " Sounds like a plan," he imitated her, " But aren't you forgetting something?" he asked. She rolled her eyes. " I promise to try not to overstress," she sighed. He smiled, " That's my girl," he replied.

Skylar shifted uncomfortably in the waiting lounge. She knew there was nothing to be ashamed of going to the doctor but for some reason she never liked it, it made her uneasy. Although Dr. Smith was a very kind doctor and she had been very friendly the last time Skylar came. 

It was about a year ago when Bruce and Skylar took a trip to the Bahamas for her birthday. Obviously because of their responsibilities they only had a weekend getaway, but every moment of the trip was amazing and she didn't have any negative feelings over not being able to stay longer. 

And they spend one day of the weekend inside the retreat, completely taking advantage of all the available services but as for the other day, both Skylar and Bruce were feeling particularly adventurous so they left the hotel to discover the Bahamas. And since they only had a day to reel it all in, they kind of mixed everything up. They tried every food and with the hot air of the Bahamas unusual for Skylar since she never lived somewhere that humid and hot, it didn't mix well.

One of the things they picked up from the street food triggered her allergies on the way back to Gotham so they went to Dr. Smith back then and she was very friendly and good at her job. That was one of the things Skylar told herself to calm down, she knew the doctor and she was okay. 

" Miss Jones? The doctor will see you now," the assistant said to Skylar. " Oh, okay," she mumbled and grabbed her bag, and started to follow the assistant. Dr.Smith had a medium-sized office, a desk, computer, and couched on the right side and all the medical examination equipment on the left side.

Skylar sat on one of the couches and put her bag down. " Miss Jones, welcome back, what seems to be the problem?" she asked kindly as she readjusted her glasses. Skylar sighed. " I've been nauseous and threw up twice. We thought it might be due to the allergies again, like the last time," she explained. 

" Hmm," the doctor said. " Are there any other unusual symptoms you seem to be having?" she asked. Skylar started to bite the insides of her cheek. She knew that technically she was supposed to be honest with her doctor and her doctor wouldn't judge anything she said, she took an oath and it was her job. 

" Uhm, it's been pointed out to me by my boyfriend that my sexual desires may have increased recently," she mumbled. The doctor didn't react unusually and just nodded. " Are you on any type of birth control Miss Jones?" the doctor asked again.

Skylar nodded. " Yes, I'm on the pill," she replied. " For how long?" she asked again. " I've been using it for two years now under regular checks by my gynecologist," Skylar replied. The doctor nodded again as she was taking some notes.

Once she was done she looked up to Skylar. " Have you ever missed any pills in the last few months?" she asked. Truth be told, she did miss some. Sometimes being Firegirl meant she needed to somewhere far away and since it was not planned, she didn't have time to take her pills with her. " Yes, a few," she replied.

" Alright, this time I'm not sure it's the allergies but maybe a side effect of missing a few days on your pills. As you might know, the known side effects of the pills are that they can make you dizzy and cause you to throw up. Have you experienced any other known side effects of the pills recently?" 

Skylar took a moment to think. Her breasts were a bit tender than they usually were but she connected it to having more sex than usual so her body was on alert. There were the swellness and fatigue but it was not a new thing, it was the side effect of the training and the fighting.

" I don't know, I guess the usual," she replied. The doctor nodded again. " Alright, I'll ask for a blood test, we'll see what's really happening. My office will give you a call once we have the results," she said. Skylar nodded. " Alright, thank you Dr.Smith," she said as she got up. " My pleasure Miss Jones, take care," 

As she walked out of the office and then the building she hoped her stomach wouldn't act up again tonight at the launch party. It was fairly an important event for both Bruce and Wayne Enterprises and she didn't want to hurt it by anyway.

Normally interns weren't allowed to go to these high profile launch parties. There'd be press, high executives, buyers, and experts on the field. Bruce would give an opening speech and shortly introduce the product. Then there'd be a demonstration. After the whole show, Bruce's job was to chat with the possible buyers and make good press. There was no need for interns or someone who worked at a lower position but since she was Bruce's girlfriend she went to these events.

It was weird, yes, since they agreed to not tell the people Skylar worked with that she was dating 'the boss' but there was no way they could know since they weren't there. And Skylar usually wasn't in the photos since only Bruce and the board were there along with the scientists who worked there, so it wasn't a huge problem.

Although sometimes the media took some pictures of Bruce and Skylar together and published it but so far no one recognized Skylar. Most of the people she worked with, luckily, didn't care about who the boss dated. 

Skylar was now home and getting ready for the party. She was going to wear a simple black dress she bought a few months back and going to do her hair up, it went with the style of the dress. Then she'd put on some make-up and she'd be ready. 

As she was spraying some perfume in Bruce walked in with his tuxedo on. He had his tie on his hands. " Okay, I need your help on a few things," he said. Skylar chuckled and walked toward him. She grabbed his tie and started to tie it around his neck. 

" I honestly don't know how you managed these things before me," she said. He smirked. " I had Alfred," he replied. She giggled, " Are you really telling me, you, Bruce Wayne, don't know how to do your tie?" 

Bruce kept on smirking. " I do, but it's better when you do it," he replied. She upped her right eyebrow. " Is that so?" she said. " Mhm," he whispered and his hands were on her body," Because then I get to do this afterward," he continued as she was done with it and leaned down, kissing her.

After Skylar pulled away she smiled. " You're unbelievable," she said. He put on his infamous smirk again. " I know," he replied. " Also, another question, the perfume," he said. Skylar sighed and smiled. " You know which one I like," 

He nodded, " I do, but there are a few you like," he responded. " Okay, let me see," she said and walked toward where his perfume bottles stood. She quickly examined them and then picked her favorite, handing it to him. 

He put on the perfume as she watched him. Sometimes, Skylar didn't know how she got so lucky to have Bruce in her life. He was the kind of partner she always dreamed of when she was little and thought about her future. The kind that she could always talk about anything. 

Ever since she was little, she knew that she didn't want a boring relationship where it was only about showing out to other people, she wanted to be with someone who she had a connection, like her parents. In which they could talk about movies, books, politics, etiquette, anything. 

Bruce had realized the way Skylar seemed to get lost in her thoughts as she eyed him. " Sky, baby, if you do not stop eyeing me like that we're going to miss the launch party," he said, " Because you know what we ended up doing the last time you gave me that look," 

Skylar got out of her zone with his words and blushed. She did indeed remembered what happened and just the thought of it made her heart skip a beat. " You weren't complaining," she shot back. " I'm certainly not, but you got ready and I'd hate it to go to waste," 

She chuckled. " Alright, I'll try to keep my eyes off of you Mister," she responded. " I wouldn't bet on it," he said.

The launch party was a success. Not that Skylar thought it'd fail but it turned out pretty great. Bruce gave a usual bomb ass speech about the company and the product. The demonstration was interesting and soon people swarmed to learn more about it.

Skylar had attended enough of these parties to know what was going to follow this now. Socializing. Or as she liked to call it 'mingling time'. "Hmm," Bruce murmured to her ear, " Seems like we've got some free time before 'mingling'," 

They were both watching the buyers and the media surrounded around the board and the scientists who worked on the product. Skylar half-turned to him and smirked. " What do you propose Mr.Wayne?"

He tilted his head and pointed at some people dancing in the background. " Lead the way Mr.Wayne," she smiled. Bruce grabbed her hand and they walked toward the people dancing.

" So, there's something I wanted to tell you," he said. Skylar furrowed her brows, it seemed serious. " Yeah? Is something wrong?" she asked. He shook his head. "No, of course not. It's about Dick," 

Skylar's heart skipped a beat. She cared about Dick deeply, he was like a little brother to her. Even though they weren't related by blood she knew that he came to think of her as a big sister or something close. 

" Don't get like that, he's fine," Bruce immediately said as he saw the change in her face. " But you know, how he has been wanting more responsibilities?" he said and she nodded. " Well, he's not the only one, I've been talking to Barry and Oliver, Kid Flash and Speedy want more responsibilities too," he explained.

Skylar's expression softened as he kept on speaking. " I don't see any surprises there, I mean, you know those three are friends, right?" she asked. He nodded. " I know, they've worked together before when we did and trained together too," he replied.

" I'm assuming there's a but coming," Skylar said and Bruce sighed. " But I don't know if they're ready, for the kind of responsibilities they want," he said. Skylar brought her hand to his cheek and caressed it slowly.

" You trained him, far longer than me, and if I'm allowed, so should he. You can't deny he has the talent," she said. Bruce eased into her hand. " Yes, but you're an adult, he's a kid, they all are," he said. 

She bit her lip for a while before answering. " Yes, but it's not like you'll be sending a bunch of kids into the streets without any preparations. They've been with you guys for years and if I know Dick, even a tiny bit, he will do anything he's got his mindset on. At least, you guys will be able to supervise this way," she said. 

Bruce seemed to be weighing the idea in his head. " And if you're really concerned, I heard Arthur talk about how great Aqualad has been, he's older than the guys, right? He'll keep them on the line," she added. 

" That's, actually, pretty clever," he responded after a while. She smirked. " That's why you keep me around," she replied. He chuckled. " That, among other things," he said. " Alright, I'll talk to the other guys and see where it leads too," he added.

She smiled and brought her hand down to his jacket's edge. " Good, he'll be happy," she said then glanced behind them. " And we have visitors," she added as she eyed the people walking their way whom she identified as the possible buyers. " Mingling time, Mr.Wayne,"


	29. Twenty Nine

The next day was a Saturday. This meant the whole family was at home. Bruce and Dick were training meanwhile Skylar was looking over some of her work. Once she was done she'd join the others in training. 

The day flew by almost immediately since everyone had some work to do and it was soon time for dinner. Alfred was preparing the table and Bruce was on the phone when Dick nudged Skylar with his elbow.

" Ow, what was that for?" she exclaimed. He shushed her. " Not here, cmon," he whispered and dragged Skylar away from Bruce and Alfred. " What's going on? You're scaring me," she said once she was sure they were out of the others' earshot.

Dick looked around before turning to her and taking a deep breath. " Do you remember the talk we had the other day?" he asked. She furrowed her brows, they've talked about many things recently. " Which one?" 

He sighed. " You know, the one," he insisted. With his tone of voice, body movements, and his look, Skylar finally understood what he meant. The other day he approached her when Bruce was busy and he asked her about how to ask someone out. 

" Ohh, now I got it," she replied with a smirk. " Don't," he warned, " The reason we're keeping this a secret from them is that they'll react this way too and I was counting on you SJ," he said. SJ was Dick's new nickname for Skylar, it was her initials. 

She chuckled and tried to 'erase' whatever expression she had on her face. " Fine, sorry kid, now, tell me everything," she said. " Okay, so I followed your advice and invited her to do something other than what we usually do," he explained.

" And? What did Barbara say?" Skylar asked excitedly. Dick first smiled then frowned. " HEY! I've never said her name, how did you know?" he asked back. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest. " Dick? Really? It's so obvious," 

He looked away for a second. " Okay, okay, fine! I guess I'll let you in on the secret too," he snorted. " She said yes, we are going to the movies on Monday after school," he said and Skylar jumped happily.

" Yes! Okay, now it's serious. You need to pick a movie she is also interested in, not just you. We need to see what's on the theatres and then pick something appropriate, what does she like?" she asked. He shrugged, " Um, we really bonded over the Harry Potter movies, uh, and also the Lord of the Rings stuff too," 

She nodded. " Okay, that means she likes action and fantasy. We'll see what's on," she said. But before they could talk more Alfred appeared in the hall they were standing in. " Unless you rather prefer to eat dinner as cold as ice I'd recommend you come," he said.

Skylar chuckled and put her arm around Dick. " Sorry, Alfred! We'll be right there!" she said. He seemed unbothered and nodded then turned around. She turned to Dick. " That was a close one," he mumbled. " I know, right?" she said. " Anyway, we'll talk about this later kid," she added and they started walking. 

As they were Skylar ruffled his hair. " I can't believe this! Your first date! I'm so excited!" she let out. Dick rolled his eyes. " Hey sister, if you can't keep it cool get lost," he said in a sassy way. " Sure, then who'd you go for advice?" she played and he frowned, knowing he was defeated. 

When they went back inside Skylar was grinning like crazy. Bruce carefully looked between the two of them. " Something's certainly going on in here," he mumbled. Skylar smiled but didn't reply. 

The dinner went by fine. Bruce tried to find out what was going on but Skylar had by now learned how to keep some things secret from Bruce, it was usually private things between her and Dick. Such as his crush on his friend Barbara.

Dick was worried Bruce would make a huge deal out of it or maybe tell him to stay away from her because of Robin or something else. Skylar was sure that was not the case and he would want Dick to be happy but his mind was made up and he wanted to keep it on the down-low for a while. 

Plus, Skylar got the feeling he wanted to make sure everything was alright before telling his 'father figure' he had a girlfriend. It was adorable. 

She knew Barbara. Sometimes she drove Dick to meet up with Skylar to study or sometimes she'd come over to Wayne Manor. It was obvious Dick was not the only one who had a crush. And they were so cute together. Skylar officially shipped it. 

" Bruce," Dick mumbled, " I need your signature. There's a field trip next week," he explained. " Ooh, where to?" Skylar asked. Dick shrugged. " Some museum, not that I haven't seen before," he smirked and she knew that smirk, he had been there as Robin. " But it gets me out of Calculus, so I'm going," 

He nodded. " Alright, leave the slip on my desk," he said. Dick grinned. " Great," he said then turned to Skylar and winked. She got the message immediately, Barbara would be on this trip as well. 

She put her hand to her chest and fake cried. " Your want to learn is making me so emotional," she exclaimed. He chuckled. " I'm sure there's no doubt on Master Grayson's undying love to learn," Alfred said causing everyone to burst into laughter. 

" Hey, hey, hey! I'm an A student now, you can't play that card against me," Dick fought back. Alfred rolled his eyes. Bruce and Skylar shared a quick glance and chuckled. Then Skylar's phone rang.

It was the doctor's office. Her playful mood suddenly shifted and she grabbed the phone and got up. She walked to her and Bruce's bedroom and answered the phone. " Miss Jones, this is Dr.Smith," she said. 

" Hello Doctor," she said. " I hope I'm not calling at an unreasonable time. I've just got your blood test's results back and thought I should share," she explained. Skylar bit the insides of her cheek anxiously, there was something with Dr.Smith's tone. 

" No, no, please tell me. Is it the allergies again?" she asked. She heard a faint chuckle through the phone. " No, it's not," she said. Skylar furrowed her brows, then what the hell was going on? 

She felt her heart starting to beat faster. The doctor was silent for maybe five seconds but for Skylar, it felt like five hours. " In fact, there's nothing wrong with you, you're not sick. You're pregnant," 

Skylar felt like a bucket of hot water was dumped on her. " What?" she exclaimed. How could she be pregnant, she had her period regularly and took the pill. " Are you sure?" she asked. " Yes, the blood test suggests that. I'm guessing the pills you missed might have been the reason, it's not uncommon. The pregnancy also explains the increase in your libido and the vomiting," she explained.

She felt like she was on a dream, this didn't feel like reality. A thousand thoughts were running on her mind. She was pregnant, freaking pregnant. Suddenly she tried to remember the last time she had her period, it had been a while but she thought it was because of stress and the missing pills. 

" You are 10 weeks along, Miss Jones, if you come by the office next week we can talk about your options," the doctor said. " Okay, thanks Dr.Smith," she managed to let out and then ended the call. 

She tried to take deep breaths, trying to digest what she just found out. She felt like crying. This was unexpected. She didn't plan for this. Not yet, at least. She had just graduated from college, just started at her job. 

And Bruce. Oh god. What would he feel about this? Did he even want a kid? He had Dick. They never talked about kids other than a possible distant future. 

She was now panicking. Being pregnant was one thing, but what if Bruce didn't want the kid, what if he didn't accept it? Oh god, oh god, this was bad. This was unexpected. 

" Skylar?" she jumped at her feet and turned around. It was Bruce and he had a worried look on his face. " Hey, are you okay? What's going on? Who called? " he asked. She took a deep breath. " Uhm, it was the doctor, my blood results came back," 

He furrowed his brows, " And? Something bad came out of it?" he asked. Skylar could see that he was alarmed and ready to jump into action based on how she must've looked like. " Uhm, I guess it depends on how you define 'bad'," she mumbled.

" Sky, baby, tell me what's going on," he softly said. Skylar closed her eyes, she didn't even have enough time to accept the fact that she was pregnant and now she had to tell Bruce. Of course, she was going to tell him, he'd be the first to know, but it'd be nice to calm down before she did. 

She opened her eyes and looked at him. There were many emotions written over his face and Skylar was dreading to see something even much negative once she told him what was going on. She knew Bruce but a baby, a kid, that was a huge thing and she'd be okay if he was not ready for it. At least she thought so.

" Okay, uhm, this is very, very unexpected. And I want you to know you're not under any obligation to do something if you don't want to. I know this wasn't in our plans, certainly not in mine, not yet, but it happened and, and, uhm, we, I mean I, if you don't want to be a part of it, need to decide what to do from now on," she rambled.

Bruce got closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her eyes. " Sky, you're rambling, please tell me what's going on. You're scaring me. What do I not need to be a part of if I don't want to?" 

She sighed and looked down. This conversation would now reach the point of no return and Skylar wasn't sure she was ready for it. Tears formed in her eyes but she took a deep breath and looked back at him. " I'm pregnant," her voice cracked. 

Bruce froze. 

Skylar bit her lip and took a few steps away from him. She buried her face on her hands for a while before turning back to face him. " I don't know if this was something you wanted or you were ready for. I missed a few of my pills and I don't know, it's my fault. I'm sorry, I didn't know this would happen," she said.

He still looked the same, his eyes were fixed on her and his face was blank. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. " The doctor said to come in next week to explore my options. I don't know what to do yet, maybe I'll get an abortion. But just know that you could be involved as much as you want," she said.

With the mention of abortion and his involvement, Bruce's snapped out of it. He took a deep breath and walked toward her again. " You're pregnant?" he asked, in a much softer tone than Skylar expected. 

She nodded, " I'm pregnant," she repeated. Suddenly, Bruce broke into laughter and hugged Skylar. He started to spin her around in the air. " You're pregnant!" he exclaimed. " We're going to have a baby!" 

Once he put her down Skylar took a deep breath. She was relieved. " Sky, why are you crying?" he asked. She hadn't realized she had started crying. " I don't know," she said, " I just found it out and I didn't know you'd react, if you'd even want the baby," she sighed, " This is all so unexpected," 

Bruce put his hands on her neck and made her look at him. " How could you think that? Sky, I love you," he said then sighed, " I know it's unexpected but it's okay, we'll figure it out, Sky, we're having a baby!" he exclaimed toward the hand and placed on of his hands on her belly. 

" Yeah, we do," she whispered and kissed him. After the kiss, she hugged him and felt e deep sense of relief when his arms wrapped around her. He was okay with it. He was putting small kisses on the side of her face and neck. 

Once the hug ended they sat on the bed, their hands intertwined together. " Okay, let's talk about this," he said. " Do you want an abortion?" he asked. Skylar bit her lip. " I've just started my job, I don't know where that'd place me with the promotion. I, I just never saw myself having a baby before turning thirty, or at least something close to it," she said.

Then she looked up from their hands to his face. " But no, I don't think I want an abortion," she said and that put a big smile on his face. " I think that was just in the heat of the moment. I was scared," she mumbled. 

He nodded. " Skylar, under no circumstances, I would never leave you in that kind of position. I know we haven't really talked about this for now, but it happened. And honestly? I couldn't be happier. You walked into my life unexpectedly too and it turned out to be great, baby, we'll figure it out," he said.

She smiled and couldn't help but tears roll down her face. " Why are you crying?" he asked. She shrugged. " I love you," she said and he wiped her tears. " I love you," he replied. Suddenly Skylar started chuckling. 

" What?" he asked, his mood brightened up. " We're going to have a baby!" she exclaimed. " Yes, we do," he said and hugged her again. 

Skylar and Bruce stayed in the room for about thirty minutes, talking about the whole thing. They didn't have exactly everything worked out but two things were sure. They were going to the doctor on Monday first thing, pregnancy was a complicated thing and as both of them knew to an extent, the assistance of a doctor was necessary, the pre-nuptial vitamins and stuff. 

Second, they needed to tell the others. The first in line were Alfred and Dick. Both of them had left dinner rather abruptly and they were sure Alfred and Dick were wondering what was going on. 

They walked back there only to find them in the kitchen, looking a bit worried. " What's going on? If there's something going down and I'm being left out, you know I'll find it out," Dick said. Skylar chuckled, " No, it's not something like that," she replied.

He furrowed his brows, " Then what is it?" he asked then saw both of them grinning. " Oh my god, " he exclaimed, "SJ, you didn't tell him right?" he whispered. Skylar shook her head and walked to him and ruffled his hair. " Of course not, partner, you can count on me," she replied.

" Well, she did tell me something," Bruce commented. Everyone turned to him. " Well, sir, please do share," Alfred said. Bruce's lips twirled and he walked to Alfred and patted his shoulder. " Alfred, you know how you always complain sometimes that because of my recklessness on some subjects that the next generation of Wayne's wouldn't inherit anything, 'not that there'd likely to be a new generation'?" 

Alfred nodded and glanced at Dick. " Well, there's certainly someone who'd inherit something, if you keep it around for that long that is," he replied. Bruce nodded. " Of course, but my point wasn't that," he said.

It took Alfred a moment to understand what Bruce was saying. He gasped. " Master Wayne, I," he mumbled, this was the first time Skylar ever saw Alfred fumble like that. " I don't understand," Dick said.

Skylar turned to her. " Dick, you're becoming a big brother," she said. Shock passed through his face. " What?" he shouted. " You're pregnant?" he exclaimed. She smiled and nodded. Dick looked at Bruce, who was hugging Alfred. 

" That's great SJ!" he said and hugged her. " Wow," he said. After that Alfred touched on her shoulder. " Miss Jones," he started but she cut him off. " Alfred, just call me Skylar for this time," she said. He cracked a smile and nodded. " Alright, well, congratulations, Skylar,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesssssss she's pregnant!!! We're getting a FireBat babyyyy :))))


	30. Thirty

The next two weeks passed by quickly. Skylar and Bruce went to the doctor and discussed the pregnancy. Skylar got written some vitamins to take throughout the process and the doctor also gave her the classic speech of what to do's and don't do's. 

They also had their first ultrasound, in which they heard the baby's heartbeat. It made Skylar cry tears of joy and even Bruce got teary-eyed. After that, they saved the photos of the ultrasound to surprise Skylar's parents. 

The baby was now around 12 weeks, which meant that it was around 3 months. They figured it was time to tell their friends and family. The plan was to announce it to their close friends from the Leauge this Friday and then Skylar's parents on the weekend when they'd fly to Central City. 

As for Skylar's job, she actually got the promotion and they decided for her to work until she was 24 to 26 weeks of pregnancy. Bruce didn't really mind, he knew that Skylar wanted to work until she couldn't, so that was their limit.

But as for being Firegirl, both Skylar and Bruce agreed that she should give a break to it. It wasn't safe for their baby and the pregnancy itself would tire and stress Skylar out enough, there was no need to add extra on it. 

So, she'd retire from being Firegirl, for a short while. They'd tell the others this Friday at the meeting. The whole Leauge had a meeting on Friday, in which they'd go over reports of the missions they'd been on, discuss new possible missions, and the new recruits of the Leauge. 

Skylar was excited when they showed up for it. Luckily the meeting didn't take that long and it ended soon after. Most of the people scattered away, since it was a Friday evening and everyone had plans. Soon only Skylar, Bruce, Clark, Diana, Barry, Oliver, and Jonn were left standing in the room, and it was because Barry had asked everyone to stay. Hal was off-world again on some mission.

Barry asking everyone to stay was a bonus for Skylar and Bruce with that they had more of an element of surprise. " Alright, tell us what's going on Barry, I'm a busy man," Oliver said, crossing his arms on his chest.

" Well," Barry started, " as you all know, there's a Flash Museum in Central City, made in my honor," he said. Diana chuckled, " Yes, we do," she said. " And, I've been informed that there will be an opening of a new exhibit, AND, the mayor is giving me the key of the city because of my heroic actions to protect the city," 

" Congrats, man," Clark said. Barry smiled. " But that's not all," he said, " I want you guys to be there too, I haven't achieved many things by myself, and although the sign says 'Flash Museum', I feel like it's something we should all be sharing so I was wondering if you guys would come. Plus, I'm getting the key of the city and I'd like it for you to be there," he quickly said. 

" When is it?" Skylar asked they were already going to Central City. " Ugh, I know it's a last-minute thing, but Sunday," he said scratching his neck. She turned to Bruce but he nodded, knowing what she'd say before she even said it.

He turned to Barry. " We'll already be at Central City for the weekend," he said. " Great," Barry exclaimed, " What about the rest of you?" he asked to the group. There was a collective 'yes's and that put a smile on Barry's face.

While that was going on Skylar turned to Bruce. " You know it was happening, right?" she whispered to him. He shrugged, " Why did you think I arranged this weekend to go there?" he said back and Skylar smirked.

" Alright, what are you kids whispering back there?" Barry said, pointing his finger at Skylar and Bruce. He didn't care to comment on Barry but he took a step forward. " Thanks to Barry, since you're all here, we have something to announce too," 

Clark furrowed his brows, " Is everything alright?" he asked. Bruce sighed. " Firegirl will be taking an absence of leave for a while," he said. Everyone looked around confused. " What?" Barry exclaimed and sped toward Skylar. 

" But we made a great team, we were CB's!" he said. CB was a term Barry used for both of them, which meant 'Central Buddies' since they were both from Central City. Skylar chuckled at him. " Don't worry, we still are," she replied.

Barry turned to Bruce. " Then why?" he asked, almost hysterically. Skylar couldn't help but smirk as she knew what Bruce was going to say next. " Well, we just think it would be better and safer for the baby," he said and took Skylar's hand. 

" Oh, oh, yeah, sure, that totally makes sense, the baby- WAIT, WHAT?" Barry exclaimed. " Holy shit! A Batsbaby!" Oliver exclaimed. " Congratulations," Clark said, patting Bruce's shoulder. Diana gave Skylar a big hug. 

Barry was jumping out of excitement. " I can't believe this! We're getting a third CB!" he exclaimed and hugged Skylar. She laughed, " Stand down, cowboy, the baby's not even born yet," she said.

Once the meeting concluded Skylar and Bruce went home and had dinner along with Dick and Alfred. After that everyone retreated to their rooms and Skylar called Lois to tell her the good news. They had grown even closer in these past years and since they told their friends from the Leauge it was time she found out too. Although Skylar knew by heart that Lois would grill her for not telling her sooner.

After a twenty-minute phone call of celebration, Skylar fell asleep watching TV. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, the constant fatigue that always tired her out was now explained.

However, it was a short nap, maybe maximum a hour when she woke up and found the bed empty. Bruce was there when she felt herself slip to sleep so she curiously walked out of the room in search of him.

Of course, since it was night and it was Bruce she was looking for, she found him down in the cave, sitting in the dark. He always joked that he did his best work in the dark but she knew aside from the humor, he really did work better in the dark. 

He heard her steps and instantly turned around. " You're out of bed, is everything alright?" he asked. She smiled. " Yeah, I just couldn't find you, what are you working on?" she asked. He shrugged, " Research," 

She smirked, " On what?" she asked. " I don't know," he mumbled and got up. " Yet," he added. Skylar eyed the screen, it seemed like various files of people, government files, and some missing people's reports. 

" What's going on?" she asked, furrowing her brows. Bruce sighed. " Is it Luthor again? With the same plan? Are they kidnapping more potential metas?" she quickly asked. " I knew you'd react like this," 

Skylar shot him a glare and he tilted his head. " It's not Luthor, I don't think he'll dare to do something like that again. And the missing people are either metas who have their powers or potential metas. This time, it's something much more serious than Luthor because it is being covered up neatly," 

" So who?" she asked, anger fueling her. She had placed her hands earlier on the top of Bruce's chair and she was furious. " Sky, sweetie, you're burning my chair," he said nonchalantly. With that sentence, she snapped out of her anger phase and looked at her hands.

She had burned his chair, just a little bit, but the melted smell of leather and plastic was now around them. " Oh, sorry," she mumbled. " It's okay," he replied. " As for your earlier question, I am going to find it out, I'm waiting on a lead," 

" Okay, I want to help," she said. She couldn't say whether he was surprised by her request or not, he was pretty good at reading her and anticipating her wishes so far, and Skylar had gotten better at it but he was too good at not having an easy face to read. 

" I thought you wanted to retire from being Firegirl, for a while," he said. She nodded. " I do, but this is much bigger than me, I don't want anyone else to go through that and I want to help until I can't," she explained.

He weighed her words for a moment. " Whatever you say," he finally said, " But you're not going fighting," he added. " Obviously," Skylar shot back, " Not unless I'm needed, of course," she continued and gave a quick peck on his lips. 

" Have you packed your bag yet? We're leaving early," she instead said, changing the topic. " Yeah, I should get to that," he mumbled. " Great! You can do that while I go find some snacks, want anything?" 

He shook his head. " No, thanks," he said as they walked out of the cave and back into the house. 

They left the house in the morning seeing how it would take them a few hours to get to Central City, even with Bruce's private jet, and they were still unclear on how to tell Skylar's parents. Sure they met up a few times now and her parents liked Bruce, really liked him as they spent more time with him. 

They landed in Central City around noon and dropped their belongings to the hotel before going to the Jones household. Skylar's parents kept saying that they were welcome to stay over but Bruce didn't want to risk it since he could be called to work anytime. They also didn't want to trouble them much. 

When Bruce parked the car he reached toward the back seat and grabbed something. " What is that?" Skylar asked. He gave a crooked smile. " A part, for your dad's car, he mentioned he had trouble finding this exact part when we spoke on the phone," he explained.

Skylar couldn't help but giggle. " Are you nervous about his reaction to the news and bought a gift?" she asked. He shrugged, "Maybe," he murmured and they got out of the car. " Don't be nervous, I'm sure they will react just fine," 

" You're saying that because you're their daughter," he said as they walked up to the door. " And you are my boyfriend, relax, it will be fine," she replied as she rang the doorbell. She saw him took a deep breath as she heard footsteps nearing the door. 

Her mom opened the door. " Sweetie, welcome!" she exclaimed and embraced her daughter. " Hey, mom," she replied and stepped inside. Her dad was standing behind her mom. " Princess," he greeted and kissed Skylar on the cheek. Her mom half hugged Bruce and her dad shook hands with him. 

" So what brings you two here this time?" Adele, her mom, asked when they sat down. " Two things actually," Skylar said. " We're here to visit a friend and well, uhm, we actually have some news to tell you," 

As she spoke Skylar noticed the way both of her parents' eyes started to shine and excitement covered their faces. She shared a quick glance with Bruce before turning to her parents meanwhile he grabbed her hand and gave it a soft squeeze. 

" Uhm, so, I don't know when you guys expected to be grandparents, but, well, you are becoming grandparents," she said. This shocked her parents, it seemed like that wasn't the news they were expecting to hear. " You're pregnant?" her mom asked.

She nodded. " Oh my god," Adele replied and hugged her daughter. " Congratulations, son," Skylar's dad said and patted on Bruce's shoulder along with a smile. He then kissed Skylar's forehead. " That's great news," 

Bruce got up from the couch. " Which reminds me, Jerry, I found the piece you asked me about," he said and handed him the box. " Oh, thanks," Jerry mumbled, " Want to help me go see it work?" he asked. Bruce nodded and they left the room.

Adele chuckled, " Those two are crazy about their machines," she said. " You have no idea," Skylar replied, actually knowing how crazy Bruce was about his machines. " You're not mad, right, mom?"

" Honey, why would I be?" her mom asked her back. Skylar shrugged. " I don't know, you usually gave me speeches about this, not to have children at a young age, and before I was sure of supporting them financially and all that stuff," 

Adele laid back on her seat. " Yeah, well, you graduated, have your degree. You've got your job and just got a promotion. Plus, the father of your baby seems like a responsible person who won't leave you out to dry. Unless, there's, uhm, something to worry about?" she asked, her tone and face getting slightly serious toward the end. 

Skylar shook her head. " No, no, Bruce's amazing, he really is," she replied. Adele smiled, " Then there's nothing to worry about. So tell me, how along are you?" 

Bruce and Jerry came back to join about an hour later and then the couple stayed at the Jones household for a few more hours, talking about the pregnancy, how to take care of a baby, parenting advice, and their future and all. Adele and Jerry's favorite thing to do was to tell others about Skylar's childhood and baby memories, which she found embarrassing but Bruce thoroughly enjoyed every single of them. 

Once they left the house and started driving back to the hotel Skylar turned to Bruce with her puppy eyes. " Bruce," she moaned as if in a child's voice and he smirked. " Let me guess," he stated, " You're craving something," 

She nodded her head embarrassingly. She didn't want to spontaneously force him to do something but she had been craving the waffles that only one specific place made here in Central City ever since they drove past it.

" The waffle place on the corner of your high school," he said. Skylar gave him a surprised look, " How did you know? I know you can't read minds," she said. He smiled, " Yeah but I saw your face when we drove past it earlier," 

Twenty minutes later they were sitting inside the place and just ordered waffles. " This feels so nostalgic," she mumbled, " And the waffle smell, god, I missed this," she said while Bruce watched her with a faint smile on his face. 

They started to talk as they waited for their orders and as soon as it came Skylar literally devoured it whole. She had gotten hungry and the cravings didn't help, at all. " So you two really thought you could come to my city without me knowing?" someone said as Skylar was about to finish eating.

Both of them turned to the source of the voice, standing a bit far away from their table and looking at them with a smudge smile on his face. " You already knew we were going to be in the city Barry, you invited us," Bruce replied. 

" Hey! I thought we were CB's, this is my city too dude!" Skylar exclaimed. Barry chuckled and sat down at the table. " But I'm curious to know how exactly you found out about our location," Bruce continued. 

Barry shrugged. " You're not the only one who has eyes and ears everywhere man, I've got my ways," he smirked at him. Bruce gave him an unbothered look and Barry chuckled. " Alright, fine, I saw it on Skylar's Instagram story," he explained, " We follow each other, you know, normal social people who have social media," 

Bruce sighed. " There's no point for me to have social media," he replied. " I can name you a hundred, right now," Barry shot back. " I'm sure you can Barry," Bruce said. Barry turned to Skylar. " So, I'm assuming you told the parents? How did it go? Was Bruce scared, PLEASE, tell me EVERYTHING," 

Skylar giggled. " It went pretty great, they're excited," she replied. " Great," Barry said. " Anyway I'm glad I caught you guys beforehand," he added. Bruce raised one eyebrow. " You are?" he asked and Barry nodded.

" Yes, seeing how I am the only father out of our gang, I feel like I need to be your guide in this journey," he said. " Oh, amazing!" Skylar replied and he smiled at her before turning to Bruce. " Although this talk will mainly be directed at you because I don't think it's my place to tell mommy about her responsibilities, maybe Iris could do that," he said.

" But you, my friend," he pointed at Bruce, " Your life changes from now on. Whatever mommy wants, she gets. No exceptions. I went to New York to get a sub hot dog at 10 AM on a Sunday because she wanted it. Foot rubs and massages every evening. No questions asked, you do it," he explained.

Skylar smirked. " I'm sure I'll be more reasonable than that," she said. Barry cackled. " You say that now sister, just wait a while, then we'll see," he said then turned back to Bruce. " Just hope it's not twins," he whispered.

" You know I can hear you, right?" Skylar asked and Barry shrugged. " I'm just telling it as how it is," he said. Bruce smiled as he watched the interaction. " Alright, dad of the year, got any more advice?" 

Barry smirked. " Tons," he replied but before he could speak more his phone vibrated and Barry's face changed as he looked at the screen. " It feels so silly for the fastest man alive to say this, but, unfortunately, I don't got the time right now," he said and got up. " Duty calls," he said.

" Do you need assistance?" Bruce asked. Barry shook his head as he put his coat on. " No, you guys are on vacation. Promise to call you if it gets out of hand but I don't think it will," he said. " See you guys tomorrow," he winked.

And as he walked away he pointed to Bruce. " Don't forget, whatever mommy wants she gets, that number one rule," he yelled and got out of the place. Skylar giggled as she watched him walk to a narrow street and then a red streak coming out of that street.

" Man, I love Barry, he's like the old fun brother I never had," she said. Bruce smiled. " He feels the same way," he replied. " Especially since you guys are CB's," he added and Skylar gasped. " Did you, YOU, used a made-up abbreviation, IN public for humor purposes?" 

Bruce chuckled a real, loud one. " I guess I did," he replied. " Wow, fatherhood has really changed you," she said and he smirked. " Gotta prepare for the dad jokes somehow right?"

That night they laid in bed, hugging as they talked. " Do you think it's time for us to start talking about names?" Skylar asked. " I don't know, maybe, have you started yet?" he asked back. She nodded. " Yeah, even though we don't know the gender yet, and we probably won't for a while, but yeah,"

"Let's hear it," Bruce smiled. She sat up straight in the bed. " Okay, to be honest, whenever my mind went to it, all I can think about are boy names," she confessed. Bruce sat exactly like her next to her and crossed his arms. " Same for me, but all I can think are girls names," 

Skylar smiled. " Okay, uhm, so, I definitely want a middle name that our child won't hate, that's rule number one", she said and he nodded. " I don't know why but, uhm, I really liked the name, Damian. Damian Wayne, it has a nice ring to it," 

" It does," Bruce murmured. " There's also Tommy or Alfie, but they could be a middle name too," she said and his face hardened. " Tommy," he whispered, " Like Thomas," he said and Skylar nodded. " Yeah, I thought you might like it,"

He broke out a faint smile. " I do," he said and Skylar saw him getting teary. She kissed him. After they leaned back Bruce smiled. " Helena," he said, " I was thinking Helena Mattie," he added. " Helena Mattie Wayne, it sounds nice too," she said.


	31. Thirty One

The weekend at Central City went pretty great. The opening of the new exhibition at the Flash museum was exciting and as promised everyone attended. They were in their costumes of course but they all stood beside Barry as he received the key to the city.

On Monday Skylar started to work with her new position. Since she graduated with a minor in International Relations she was now working in the Internatıonal Management division in which they overlooked the new investment opportunities, reports of ongoing projects, and all the details of everything outside of the U.S.A.

She was now on a different floor with a cubicle all to herself. Gavin was no longer her superior although Alex, her new boss, was nice enough. She was very helpful and walked Skylar through everything she didn't know.

Hannah, someone Skylar met during the beginning of her internship, also worked in the same department. They spent about one month and a half when Skylar first started and could be considered friends but she had gotten the promotion and had a fallout. Now they were friendly again.

Close to the end of her shift Hannah approached Skylar's cubicle. " Some of us are going to the place by the street after work, care to join?" she asked. Skylar smiled, " Sure, who'll be there?" she asked back. Hannah shrugged.

" Jessica is coming too, I think you met her before. But don't worry, all the girls are very nice," she explained. " Alright, sounds fun," Skylar replied. " Great, see you in thirty," Hannah smiled and walked away.

Skylar took out her phone and texted Bruce that she was going out with some friends from the office and that she would come home later on her own. They usually went home together unless they had to attend their other 'jobs'. Bruce texted back a playful remark that she was replacing him already and for her to have fun.

As planned Skylar met up with Hannah half an hour later and together they walked to the pub Hannah told her. When they went inside they went straight to a table where three girls were seated.

" Yeah, yeah, get this! She works at Wayne Enterprises as well," one of the girls was saying when Skylar and Hannah reached the table. " Oh my god, what is going on?" Hannah asked as she sat. The girl shrugged. " Apparently boss has a girlfriend, and she works with us,"

Hannah furrowed her brows. " Wait, The boss boss? Mr.Wayne?" she asked. The same girl nodded. Skylar was shocked at what the girl was saying, she thought they had been careful and didn't know how it could have gotten out. But it seemed like they didn't know who she was, yet.

" Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you. This is Skylar, she just got promoted to my department. This is Jessica, I think you already met. And these are Beth and Kate. Kate is our gossip queen, there is not a thing that sweeps by her," Hanna said as she introduced everyone.

Skylar smiled. " Nice to meet you," she said. She got hello's, nice to meet you's, and smiles from the girls. " Anyway, as I was saying, it's legit. But I have yet don't know whether they met at work or it was from before," Kate said.

" How do you know it's legit?" Skylar asked. Kate shrugged. " Some girls at the office told me. Apparently, they heard some minor executive talking on the phone that dating the boss gets you benefits from work or something and one time I heard Claire talking on the phone about assisting Mr.Wayne to get a gift for his girlfriend on the toilet,"

Jessica smiled and leaned toward Skylar. " Claire's Mr.Wayne's assistant," she said. " Oh, okay," Skylar said as she forced a smile and tried to play dumb. " I don't know, it doesn't seem a hundred percent," Hannah said as she leaned back. " The minor executive could've been talking about anyone, so far all we know is that Mr.Wayne has a girlfriend,"

" What a lucky girl, honestly, dating the hottest bachelor in the city," Beth said. " I know right?" Hannah smirked, " Must be some girl to lock Bruce Wayne," she continued. " I wonder if it's the same girl he kept getting photos taken," Kate murmured.

Beth chuckled. " Seriously? Weren't they photographed about a year ago or something? I haven't seen anything on his romantic life for a while now, the man keeps his privacy," she said. Kate shrugged. " I'm just guessing,"

Skylar kept getting tense the more the girls talked. She didn't know what would happen if people found out, surely it wouldn't be that bad but she still didn't want her achievements to be taken for anything other than herself.

Then her phone started to ring. She picked it up. " Hey Jonn, is everything alright?" she asked. It wasn't usual for Jonn to call her, he almost always called her about Leauge business. " Yes, everything is alright. I was wondering if you could come by the Tower anytime soon," he answered. " Is something wrong?" she asked again. " No," he replied, " When can you come by?"

" Now, I guess?" she asked, still confused. " Great, I'll be waiting," he replied and ended the call. She turned to the girls. " I've got to go," she said. " What's wrong?" Hannah asked. Skylar shrugged. " Uhm, it was my landlord, he needs me to come home for something, I don't know, he didn't explain much," she quickly lied.

Hannah nodded. " Oh, okay, see you tomorrow," she said. Skylar smiled. " Definitely, it was nice to meet you all. Sorry to leave so early, I hope we can do it sometime soon," she said. The girls nodded. " Of course, see you,"

After leaving the pub Skylar directly went to the Watchtower, she was intrigued about what Jonn was going to do. Luckily she still had her suit with her in her bag, just in case. She would of course respond to a major event until the end of her pregnancy or at least until she wasn't able to.

Since the Leauge had expanded they now had personnel working for them who'd look over the transports, the maintenance of the tower, communications, cleaning, food, and all that stuff. There were some members who had a permanent residence at the tower. She walked toward one of the personnel standing next to one of the panels.

" Hey, could you please tell me where Martian Manhunter is?" she asked along with a smile. The man turned to her after pressing a couple of buttons. " He's there," he pointed up.

The transportation area of the watchtower was probably it's biggest area. Around the transportation area were small platforms where the personnel worked from. There were four big doors that each led to somewhere else, living quarters, training areas, cafeteria, and storage. And in the middle of that room was a little tower with glass covering it, the control room. People would announce something from there if there was an emergency. The control room also had access to the meeting room in which the 'founders' of the Leauge went to when they wanted to discuss something.

The personnel was pointing at the control room. " Thanks," Skylar said and quickly made her way over there. She found Jonn there along with a green-haired woman. He quickly spotted her. " Ah, I'm so glad you made it,"

Skylar smiled at him as she turned to the woman. " I'd like to introduce you to our new member, Fire," he said. Skylar's smile grew. " Cool, I'm Firegirl, nice to meet you," she said and the two women shook hands.

" I've never met anyone else who had similar abilities to mine, it's so good to meet someone else," Fire said. " I know, right?" Skylar replied and they chuckled. " Also, I heard that you were taking a break from all of this for a while, and I'd like you to know I'm not trying to replace you or anything," Fire said.

Skylar furrowed her brows, " I honestly wasn't thinking about that, but, uh, thanks I guess," she mumbled. " You know," Fire started, " If you've got time, I'd really like to compare notes, there are some things I'd like to try but it's not safe to train with anyone,"

Skylar smirked. " Let me get changed," 

About ten minutes later Fire, Jonn, and Skylar were walking toward the training area. The two girls walked inside while Jonn went to the watch room. There were small watch rooms in every training room to analyze or even create simulations to train. Since the fire wasn't good for Martians he had to go there.

Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Speedy were training when Fire and Firegirl stepped inside. As soon as she saw them Skylar turned toward the watch room to see Batman and Green Arrow looking at them. The boys stopped after a minute.

" Hey guys, do you mind taking a break?" Skylar asked. " Or we could join in too," Kid Flash snickered causing Robin to elbow him. " Sure thing SJ," he replied. " Thanks, you guys might want to step back though," Fire said.

The guys stepped to the watch room. " Uh, what's going on?" Green Arrow asked through the microphone. " Training," Skylar replied. She was looking at Batman, he was wearing his usual unreadable face whenever he put on the costume.

They shared a quick glance and seeing no rejection from his behavior Skylar smiled. " Would you ladies like a simulation?" Arrow asked again. Skylar shook her head. " Alright,"

Fire and Firegirl walked away from each other to a reasonable distance. Fire was the first one to strike as she sent a green fireball to Skylar's way. " Your fire is green? That's so cool!" Skylar said and saw Fire smirking.

She also had some moves she would like to try as well. She first wanted to play defensive and see Fire's abilities. Fire was right, there weren't many people around whom she could practice along with their abilities without hurting anyone. Until now.

Recently she had this idea to combine her fire and the martial arts training she was getting from Bruce and these would be the perfect chance to work on them, without causing too much trouble.

Fire kept sending fireballs and blasts toward Skylar's way but since she was playing defensive she was dodging the attacks by jumping and in pares. The last fireball went by too close and Skylar stood on her feet, her knees curled and her hands supporting the position. She also didn't want to tire herself too hard because of the baby.

She stretched out her left leg and spun around until she jumped back to her feet using the momentum. As she did the spinning, she sent fire toward Fire from her leg and feet. No lie, this was something she saw on a TV show and actually what inspired her to combine her abilities and martial art.

Right after standing on her feet again, Fire sent a big blast toward her. She fell back to her arms as she avoided it. As soon as the green flames went past her she sent a blast of her to Fire from her feet as she did a backflip.

" You're good," Fire commented and Skylar smiled. Fire opened up her hands and two small green flames appeared. She started sending them to Skylar and she either dodged them or neutralized them by sending her own flames to go back to Fire.

After her attacks, Skylar heard some kind of exclamation from Fire. When she looked at her she was now completely covered in green flames, just like her when she used her powers to a maximum. Their abilities were really similar.

Fire sent a big continuous blast to her and Skylar had to fly away to avoid it. The blast followed her so Skylar knew she had to stop running away to end this. She was getting kind of tired and for some reason, she wanted to prove her place.

She had no thoughts about herself being replaced until Fire said so and even though she knew Bruce or their friends wouldn't try to replace her she still felt a bit jealous and becoming 'victorious' from this little training was her desire.

Skylar knew the flames wouldn't hurt her and she had an idea how to stop this all. She could see Fire getting a bit tired as well, she was using her power to the maximum. Skylar flew to where she previously stood and the blast soon followed her.

She put up her hand, similar to a cop putting his hand up to signal drivers to stop, and the blast started to evade away from her. Fire realized this and increased the power of it. After a while, Skylar put up her other hand since it wasn't enough.

She started to take deep breaths as this whole thing was really energy depraving but what she was doing was working. The green flames were now being divided to left and right and it was the opening Skylar wanted.

However, this was division meant Skylar had to focus all of her energy on her power so she was now almost on her knees. Fire was quick to catch up on it and a cry fell from her mouth as she powered up.

Skylar screamed as she got up, feeling her whole body turning into flames like it always did when she pushed to the limit and a massive orange fire appeared, swallowing all the green. Then she took a step back, for a quick second to breathe and gain her strength, and moved her left foot forward as her right hand, now in a fist, launched forward.

A spiraling fire came out of it and as it made its way toward Fire it grew noticeably and hit her. Fire fell down on her back. Skylar was standing on her feet, breathing heavily as she tried to stand up.

She had just used massive energy and given that she was pregnant she was now exhausted. She felt the flames around her body extinguish as she fell to her knees, still trying to catch her breath. It was a good thing Bruce made her suit inflammable.

" That was amazing!" Kid Flash said as he appeared next to Skylar in a second and knelt next to her. " Are you okay?" he then quickly asked, spotting Skylar taking in deep breaths. " Thanks," she managed to let out and saw the others coming inside from the watch room.

Batman and Robin rushed to her side as the others went toward Fire to help her up. Kid Flash grabbed Skylar's elbow and helped her get up. " You did the move I taught you!" Robin exclaimed once they got close enough.

Skylar smirked. " Told you I'm a quick learner," she replied. Batman was next to her soon and he grabbed the elbow Kid Flash was holding and put his other hand on Skylar's waist to support her. He helped her walk toward the watch room and made her sit.

" Are you better now?" he asked meanwhile the others came back. " Yeah, yeah, I'm alright," she mumbled. " You are amazing, you must teach me some of the things you did!" Fire exclaimed. Skylar tried smiling to her. " Sure, I'd love to,"

Green Arrow crossed his arms o his chest as he smirked. " Remind me to never piss you off," he said. " Not bad for a pregnant lady, huh?" she responded and Arrow winked at her. " Not bad at all,"

Skylar leaned back on her chair. " Good, cause I'm not doing anything like this for the next year or so again," she said. " Agreed," Batman said looking at her with an expression that Skylar could only decipher as a mad concern.


	32. Thirty Two

Later that day Batman, Robin, and Firegirl went back home. After eating dinner Bruce silently went down into the Batcave as the others watched him go. Skylar turned to Dick. " He's mad, isn't he?"

Dick shrugged. "I don't see why, you kicked ass in there, maybe he's jealous," he responded. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Yeah, sure," she replied. Alfred sighed as he sat right across from Skylar. He gave a look to Dick. After a moment, Dick sighed and got up.

" He's not mad," Alfred said. Skylar looked at him confused. " He's not?" she mumbled. Alfred took a deep breath. " You see, Master Wayne had a, uhm, difficult past. It takes a long time for him to open up to someone else and even a longer time to trust them. Unfortunately, he has lost many loved ones. Now he has you and he is about to become a father. I know him since he was in diapers, he's not mad, he's terrified,"

Skylar bit her lower lip nervously. " He's terrified because he allowed himself to be happy after so long and he doesn't want to lose it. Especially after losing so much his whole life. I know today was just training, but it could not have been. You and your unborn baby could have gotten hurt. That is his worst nightmare right now. The life he built for himself, the happiness, the love he allowed himself being taken away,"

After Alfred stopped speaking both of them sat in silence for a while. Skylar knew Bruce had a hard life and it was hard for him to open up and let someone in. She also got his fear of losing her and their baby, god knew she had the same fears as well.

" I'll talk to him," she mumbled and got up. " Good luck," she heard Alfred said as she made her way over to the Batcave. Bruce was sitting on the chair and looking at the screen. She stopped at the monitor and lightly leaned on it, crossing her arms.

" Are you okay?" she asked. Bruce didn't look away from the screen as his hands were under his chin and he wore his classic emotionless face. " Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he replied to her question.

Skylar chewed down on her bottom lip for a while before speaking again. " I'm better now, the nausea and all of that are gone," she mumbled. " Good," Bruce muttered. Skylar gathered that he didn't want to talk about that thing now.

" Uhm, something happened today, before," she sighed. That definitely got his attention as he turned his chair and was now directly looking at her. " Yeah?" he said. " I was with some girls, from the office. Hannah invited me, we interned together for a while,"

" Anyway, her friends were talking when we got there. They know you have a girlfriend and that she works at Wayne Enterprises. They don't know that it's me but said that they heard Claire talking on the phone about helping you pick a gift for me and a minor executive talking on the phone and jokingly saying 'dating the boss gets you off the hook',"

Bruce lightly tapped his fingers to his chin as he thought. " I'm assuming Gavin is the minor executive?" he asked. Skylar shrugged. " Probably, he's the only one he knows beside Lucius and Claire,"

" Would that be a problem?" she finally asked. Bruce tilted his head. " Why would it be? I'm only concerned about how it might backfire on you, we've talked about this," he replied. She took a deep breath. " I know, but I don't think it will be such a big problem, I'm getting along well with everyone and I'll have to leave for maternity leave soon anyway,"

" If you say so," Bruce replied. Honestly, Skylar didn't see the point in hiding their relationship anymore. They had been together for a little over than two years now, it wasn't a fling. Besides, they were going to have a child together and there was the whole secret superhero thing they did together.

And Skylar loved Bruce. So much. She didn't care what others would possibly say about her and her relationship to him, she was happy with her life and nothing could ruin it.

Bruce sighed as he got up and grabbed Skylar's hand. " Come with me," he said as he started walking and dragging her after him. " Where are we going?" she asked but he didn't reply as they went back upstairs and headed to the garage.

" Master Wayne," Alfred started to say but Bruce cut him off. " We'll be back, just going for a drive," he said to him and Alfred nodded knowingly. Skylar gave Alfred a confused look as she went by him but he just smiled at her.

They got in one of Bruce's car and he started to drive away into the city. " You're not gonna tell me where we are going, are you?" she asked. He shook his head. " Knew it," she mumbled under her breath.

" How about if you tell me why are you worried then?" she asked again. Bruce sighed. " How can I not be Sky?" he said sharply. " You know how much you mean to me, both of you," he said, now in a calmer tone as his left hand reached out and brushed over her hand.

" You were amazing," he smirked, " I've never seen you shown that kind of fighting, you were fierce. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You were calm, resourceful, organized, and skilled. Everything we've been working over for the past two years was combined perfectly and that finish, even I didn't know how powerful your abilities could go," he continued and Skylar could see the way his eyes shined as he talked about it.

But then he frowned. " However, after your big show, you got pale and couldn't even stand on your feet. All of that drained you and I couldn't help but think what if it seriously hurt you. Would it hurt you in the long run? You looked so sick and couldn't even stand for a while. It makes me worry, scared even. I can't lose you,"

Skylar took a deep breath and intertwined their fingers together. " And you won't," she sighed. " Look, I know today got out of hand but it won't happen again," she said. She then squeezed his hand. " Look at me," she said.

Bruce directed his gaze at her slowly. " You won't lose me, okay?" she asked. He nodded. " Okay," he replied. " Good," she whispered and that made both of them smile. After that, they drove in silence, still holding hands.

The drive took about twenty more minutes. Although they didn't speak Skylar relaxed, knowing that he wasn't mad and that she at least got him to talk about it. She understood his reasoning behind his actions and didn't blame him, at all.

It was true, she pushed to the limit today and that was something she shouldn't have done. She was yet to experience to control her powers when she was at her maximum. There was also the fact that she was pregnant and that much exercise could have hurt the baby. Hell, she might have gotten hit and even though the fire wouldn't have hurt her, the impact could still have hurt the baby.

Bruce finally parked the car. Skylar was lost in her thoughts and didn't realize where he drove to. She looked out of the window in confusion. They were in the old building that she lived before she moved in with Bruce.

" What are we doing here?" she asked but Bruce didn't answer as he got out of the car. Skylar followed him and they got inside the elevator. " Seriously, Bruce, why are we here?" she asked again but he didn't answer, just smiled, and grabbed her hand.

They got off on the twenty-fifth floor and walked until Bruce stopped in front of a door. W2556 was carved on to the door. He smirked to her for a second before opening the door and allowing her to get in. After they both got in and he closed the door he lead Skylar to the balcony.

The apartment was now empty, no shocker since she moved out, but it was still weird to see it that way. Skylar spent months living here and it was her first apartment all to herself, it held a dear memory in her heart.

To her surprise, the couch was still there. Bruce stopped in the middle of the balcony and turned to face her. He grabbed her hands and looked inside her eyes, determined. He took a deep breath, as if he was getting ready for something.

" My parents were murdered in front of me," he started and Skylar was shocked, to say the least. He was never the one to talk about his past so easily and that kind of talk was definitely not something she expected to have with him, right now.

" And I've been betrayed by almost everyone I've ever trusted. I grew up alone with no one to trust. Of course, besides Alfred. He was the only person I ever trusted, with my secrets, with my life, with everything. Then Dick came into the picture and it made everything a bit better, but still, it didn't change the darkness that is my life... Was my life. For so long, it had been like that, dark. Like a long, never-ending dark night that was my life," his face was stern as he spoke.

" But then you walked into my life. Yes, it was unexpected, yes it freaked me out. Because I started to care. I started to care for someone, something other than the mission, Alfred and Dick. And I was terrified. Because I knew myself enough that I couldn't handle losing someone else, someone I loved, from my life. Yet, I couldn't stay away from you. No matter how hard I tried, how many excuses I came up with," his lips twirled up and his face lightened.

" I told myself that as long as I was Batman I couldn't be with you, that it would put you in danger and someone might try to hurt you to get to me. Putting someone I care in harm's way, especially you, was hard for me. And then you got kidnapped. Yes, it wasn't entirely related to me but I couldn't protect you, I couldn't prevent them from kidnapping you and the things you had to go through, I still feel their guilt," Skylar could see the dark shadows of the memories and their effects on his face. And seeing him that hurt touched something within her, tears formed in her eyes.

" And all of that, considering everything, it made me realize something. My life really was a dark night. Until you. And I realized that from that point on, no matter how dark it got, it wouldn't matter because it would have never felt so bright with you by my side. You're my light, the light to my darkest night," he smiled and Skylar couldn't help but join him.

He looked down for a second and chuckled. " I love you so much," he said. " I love you too," Skylar replied, a tear rolling down on her cheek. She still didn't understand why they were at her old apartment, why was he giving this beautiful speech or why was she on the verge of crying. Damn pregnancy hormones.

" And I just want you to know, this is not a rash decision, it's actually been a long time coming thing, the problem was just me trying to build up the nerve," he said, still looking down. Skylar furrowed her brows, where was he going with this? What was a long time coming thing? Why was he trying to build the nerve?

Suddenly, dark thoughts crept into her mind, what was Bruce going to do? Her heart sped up and her fingers started to feel numb as Bruce let go of her hands he held before starting to talk. She looked between their now separate hands and his face in confusion.

Bruce out his left hand to his pocket as he finally looked up. " Sky," he said, his voice came out in a whisper that under normal circumstances Skylar would find incredibly sexy, probably one of the main reasons why she was pregnant, and goddamn the pregnancy hormones didn't help her have a clear mindset right now, and indicated her that Bruce was about to say something very important, or very sexy but she doubted the last part.

He slowly descended to one knee and Skylar felt like boiling water was poured down from her face. His left hand was holding a little black box and he opened it as he looked at her again. " Skylar Marie Jones, will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"

To say the least, Skylar was in shock. She kept looking between Bruce and the ring as he smiled warmly. Was this really happening? Was he really proposing and all the dark thoughts that came to her were only her paranoia? It was and she got caught up on her emotions again.

He was still looking at her patiently as she cleared up her mind. And as soon as the dark thoughts cleared out she finally processed what was really happening, she didn't really know how much time it took but the biggest smile covered her face. " Yes!" she exclaimed.

She saw Bruce's posture relaxing and him taking a deep breath before putting the ring on her finger then getting up to hug her tightly. " Sorry, sorry, I'm in shock, this is incredible, I love you, oh my god," Skylar started to ramble out of excitement.

Bruce chuckled as he leaned back, his arms still around her body, and smashed his lips to hers, starting to kiss her passionately.

" If you want to tell the ones at work, do it, I don't care, I want the whole world to know that you're mine," he said, squeezing the hand that had the ring on it. Skylar couldn't help but smile. " It would be kind of inevitable when my surname changes, don't you think Mr.Wayne?" she smirked.

Bruce replied her smirk with one of his infamous smirks. " You are totally correct, Mrs.Wayne," he replied. She chuckled at the last remark. " Get used to hearing it, you'll be Mrs.Wayne for a long time,". Skylar leaned in to kiss him again. She was feeling extremely happy at the moment, nothing could ruin her mood.

" Wait," Skylar abruptly leaned back, " You said this was a long time coming thing, how long have you been planning this?" she asked. Bruce chuckled. " Of course, that's the part you chose to focus on,"

She upped her eyebrow as to make him tell and he sighed. " Do you remember the night you brought me to one of those night clubs, under disguise?" he asked. Skylar nodded slowly. " Right before my graduation, to celebrate," she answered.

" Yes, and when we there at the bar, suddenly a song started to play. It had this upbeat rhythm and just as the chorus said 'she said just up and dance with me', I was telling you something and you said," he continued but Skylar joined her in the last part. " I told you to shut up and dance with me,"

Bruce chuckled with the memory. " Yes, and as you dragged me to the dance floor I focused on the song, more precisely the lyrics. And as I was listening to it and watching you dance, one line in particular from it stood out. ' This woman is my destiny'. It was right there and then that I knew for sure, that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you,"

Skylar giggled. " It's been almost a year!" she exclaimed. He nodded. " Yeah, well, right after graduation you started the internship and there was the whole Leauge complications and I didn't want to stress you out with everything. Then, right when I was about to do it you told me you were pregnant and I didn't want you to think that I was just doing it for it, but no, I'm doing it because I want to spend the rest of my life with you, our baby was just a little surprise and a slight delay in my plans," he explained.

She couldn't help but new tears being formed. " I love you so much," she said and hugged him. How the hell she did get so lucky to have someone like Bruce in her life, she never knew, but she was grateful.

" Okay, if we're over the initial shock, I think you should call your parents now," he said. Skylar gasped. " They knew?" she exclaimed. " Wait, of course, they knew," she mumbled as she remembered the time they told them they had some news for them and the way their faces lightened up.

Bruce nodded. " Yeah, your dad's been a big help actually," he murmured. " Let me guess, the last time we were there and you two disappeared, it wasn't about the car, was it?" she asked. He chuckled. " We really did work on the car, for a bit, but I was getting his opinion on the ring and he helped me with the nerves,"

" Sneaky Mr.Wayne," Skylar commented. Bruce smirked and she gave him a quick peck on the lips. " Wait, I have one more question," she said and he chuckled. " Of course you do, love, fire away,"

Skylar looked around. " Why here?" she asked. Bruce shrugged as he sat on the edge of the couch. He then reached his hand out and gently pulled Skylar to his side.

" This is where we kissed for the first time," he said. " No, this is where I kissed you, Mr.Wayne," Skylar smirked.

Bruce rolled his eyes playfully. " Given how you took the first step, it's only fair that I take the next step where it all began, don't you think?" he asked. Skylar smiled as memories rushed to her mind, the nervousness she felt when she was about to kiss him for the first time, how it felt to kiss him, and everything that came afterward, their first night together. " I suppose," she replied.

Once they got back home the Bat-Signal went off and Bruce along with Dick had to rush out to deal with it. Alfred congratulated Skylar on the engagement and shaded Bruce about how long it took.

After that Skylar went to her room and called her parents to tell the news. They were overjoyed as well. Their call took about five minutes and after it was over Skylar knew who to call next. Her best friend and supporter in this new world she walked into, and someone who would get majorly excited, Lois Lane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOOOOO they're engaged now :))))) I honestly teared up writing this part. And from now on, there are only 10 chapters left. And let me tell you, things are going to get crazy.


	33. Thirty Three

It had been a month since the engagement. The baby was a little over four months which meant her baby bump was now showing a little and in two to three weeks they'd be able to learn the gender of their baby. Lois wanted to throw Skylar a baby shower like her life depended on it but she wasn't sure.

Another major thing was that Bruce and Skylar went public with their relationship for real and it was not like Skylar expected. Hannah and the girls were surprised at first but quickly adjusted to the fact that the girl they gossiped about was her. The reveal made the girls bond even more.

Her new boss called Skylar into her office and Skylar thought she would either scold her or be completely nice because she was now engaged to Bruce but no she gave a speech about that she should not be expected to treated differently because of her relationship, her boss would certainly not and she said that she understood why Skylar kept her relationship a secret.

Other than that her life was simply perfect right now - nothing could ruin it. She was now headed back to the office after her lunch break with Hannah and the other girls. Right, when she was about to enter the building she stopped when she heard someone talking to her.

" Hey mama," the familiar voice said. Skylar turned to the source of the voice and spotted Hal leaning on the wall and smiling at her. " Hal! You're back!" she exclaimed and reached for a hug. " When did you get back?" she asked.

He was off-world for a while now, she didn't know the specifics but it was a mission that needed multiple Lanterns and it had been almost two months already. " Couple of days," he replied. " But forget about me, you've got all the news to share," he smirked.

Skylar smiled. " Yeah, I guess so," she said. " How's Carol?" she asked. " Oh, she's fine, a little pissed that I've been gone so long, because, cmon, who wouldn't miss this piece of fine art?" he gestured to himself. Skylar chuckled. " Yeah, sure,"

" Anyway, since you mentioned Carol, here, it's from both of us," he handed a small bag to Skylar. "What's this?" she asked surprised. " A little something from Uncle Hal and Auntie Carol," he replied. " Oh my god, you guys shouldn't have, thank you," she said and hugged him again.

He shrugged. " Don't be ridiculous mama," he laughed. " Thanks again," she murmured. " Wait, please tell me you haven't come all this way just to give me this," she said. He shook his head. " Ugh, I wish, his highness asked me to come," Hal replied.

Skylar furrowed her brows. " Bruce?" she asked. He nodded. " Yeah, he asked me for a favor, some investigating, I don't really know the details," he explained. " Oh," was all Skylar said. After that small talk, both of them went up to Bruce's office.

" Hey Skylar," Claire greeted the pair. " Hey Claire, how are you?" Skylar asked. She smiled. " Fine, and you? Is the little fella tiring you out yet?" Claire asked in return. Skylar shrugged. " Eh, just the normal amount,"

Claire giggled at the response. " This is Hal Jordan, our friend," Skylar introduced. Claire gave him a standard smile. " You're the 1:15 appointment?" she asked. Hal nodded while Skylar narrowed her eyes. " He gave you an appointment?" she murmured, confused. " That's hilarious,"

" He's waiting, you can go in," Claire said. " Thanks," Skylar said and they went inside. Bruce was seated in his chair, writing or signing some papers when they stepped inside. " Took you long enough Jordan," he murmured.

Hal shrugged. " What can I say? The company kept me busy," he smirked. Bruce looked up with a smug in his face but it softened when his eyes landed on Skylar. He got up and quickly kissed her cheek. " Hi, honey," he whispered.

" So, why am I here for?" Hal asked, gesturing with his hands. Bruce quickly checked whether they closed the door and then clicked a button on his desk. A hologram screen appeared over his desk.

Skylar eyed the files and realized that they were the same files and footages Bruce had been investigating for some while now. " Seem familiar?" he asked. Skylar nodded. Bruce then opened up a list of names. Hal crossed his arms and carefully looked at the screen.

" These are the names of some meta-humans that have been detected in the last few years. Some are related to what Luthor was doing, some not, but they are all activated metas," Bruce explained. Then he pressed another button and some names' colors turned to red. " And these are the names of people who have been missing in the last two to three months,"

Skylar took a deep breath. " Is this Luthor again? Is he initiating the same plan, AGAIN? Kidnapping metas?" questioned angrily. " I don't know, yet. The only thing I'm sure of it is that meta-humans are being kidnapped, again," he replied.

" Men, we can't catch a break," Skylar hissed under her breath. Hal scratched his head. " Do you have any leads on them?" he asked. " I'm assuming you do, if you called me here," he continued. Bruce smirked. " Of course I do,"

He then opened up footage of a gas station in a desert-like place. The video started to play at high speed as multiple cars came and left over the span of weeks. " Dude, you know my thing is planes, right?" Hal sighed.

Bruce gave him a look. " Skylar, do you notice anything?" he asked her instead. " Where's the location?" she asked. " An off-road. Not used primarily for the last thirty years or so, not since the highway. There's a small town at the end of the road, the population is around five thousand but they don't go out much, and certainly don't get much visitors,"

Skylar took a moment to think as she watched the video again, all the cars and the station. The station was simple itself. Seemed like the typical one you'd find in an old road. Then it hit her. The cars.

" They are good cars," Skylar exclaimed suddenly. " What?" Hal asked. " If this is a route not commonly used, and the only thing it leads up to is a small town, why the good cars? Look at to the brands, why would that many of them be there?"

" Exactly," Bruce said. " It's not Luthor, at least not someone directly connected to him. All the plates are private, so either a government branch or the military," he continued. " But what do they have got to do with missing metas?" Hal asked.

He furrowed his brows. " You're not actually suggesting that the government is kidnapping its own citizens, right?" he asked again. Bruce shrugged. " It's not like it didn't happen before," he replied. " Anyway, that's why I called you," he added.

The hologram screen changed again and opened up a map. There was a little red x on it. " This is the station," Bruce said and then traced his finger along the road to the other part of the screen. " And this is the town. According to the maps, there's nothing else in between," he said then a new map opened up.

" But there is, a secret base. Hidden from the maps and all, I managed to find it, I thought it was worth giving a shot," he continued. " Your private satellite?" Hal asked. Bruce smirked. " How else?" he replied and Hal scoffed. " You genius bastard,"

Bruce closed the screen off and turned to Hal. " I'm thinking of a recon mission. Let's see what this hidden base is up to and whether the metas are there," he proposed. " I'm in," Hal said. " Tonight," Bruce replied.

" Alright, if that's all, I've got to go now, I've been away from work long enough and if I don't show up now not even dating the boss will save me," Hal said. " Okay, take care," Skylar said. " Oh, and also, say hi to Carol, and thanks for the gift again!"

" Will do," Hal smirked before walking out. " Gift?" Bruce asked. Skylar turned to him with a smile. " Yes, I forget to tell you with all of the meta talk, look! Carol and Hal got us a gift for the baby!" she said and excitedly took out the small bag Hal gave her from her purse.

Bruce smiled. " That's kind of them," he said. She nodded. " Should we open it? I'm so excited," she asked. He chuckled, " Sure," he replied. She quickly opened it and saw the white baby blanket with a purple bat on it. She couldn't contain her laughter. " That's adorable,"

" He's so dead," Bruce murmured but he was smiling as well. 

When Skylar reached home she was exhausted. Bruce stayed at the Wayne Tower, he had some meetings and told her to go home. She quickly changed and then snuggled in front of the TV on the huge soft couch with a blanket around her. She opened up a random TV channel and started to watch the show on there.

Coincidentally, the episode was about a young girl becoming a mother and going through the hardships of having a newborn baby. Tears started to fall down on her face unintentionally as she watched the TV.

" Hey SJ! What's going on?" Dick entered the room, worry in his voice. " It's, it's, uhm, the show," she rambled, pointing to the TV and wiping her tears. " What about it?" he asked sitting next to her. " That girl just gave birth, and her age is close to mine. And she's having a hard time with her baby,"

" And, and, I can't help think what if it will be me? I'm in my early twenties, I didn't think I'd get pregnant before my late-twenties. I'm too young, what if I can't do it? I don't even know how to change a diaper! I don't want to be a shitty mother! What kind of mother doesn't know how to change a diaper?" she exclaimed.

Dick listened silently. " SJ, first of all, you're not that young, you're grandma, remember?" he said playfully, trying to lift her mood. She broke out a faint smile. " And you're not alone. There's Bruce, me and Alfred! He always brags about how he changed Bruce's diapers when he was a baby so we at least have one person in the house who allegedly knows how to do it. If not, I think we have enough money to hire a nanny to do those stuff, or at least teach you, "

Skylar chuckled at him. " Yeah, you're right," she murmured. " I guess I just got overwhelmed a bit," she continued. He smirked. " That's why I always say to be simply just whelmed, grandma," he replied and she laughed for real.

" Yeah, that's what I'm talking about," he said with a smile. " And for what it's worth, I think you'll be a great mom. You're already great with me, and let me tell you, teenagers. They are the real struggle. The baby will shit in his pants for like, what? Maximum three years? The rest is harder and you've been fine with me. I should know, I'm a teenager,"

Skylar rolled her eyes. " Yeah, a teenager who's too smart for his own good," she replied. He shrugged. " That's me, lady, and you are great with communicating with me, don't worry, it'll all be fine,"

She chuckled. " I was great, then was fine and then back to great? Which one is it?" she playfully asked. He smirked. " Awesome," he replied. She smiled. " I love you, kid," she said as she reached for a hug. " Love you too," Dick said.

They stayed like that for a while and then Dick continued to rest his upper body on Skylar's as she played with his hair. " Do you miss your parents?" Skylar felt the need to ask. She has never done that before and she normally never asked Dick about his parents, she only listened when he wanted to talk about them with her - which was rare.

He was playing with his fingers before he answered. " Everyday," he replied eventually. " I mean, how could I not?" he continued. He shrugged. " But I learned not to try to live in the past. They will always be my parents, and I love them, but I have a family now. Bruce, Alfred, you, the baby. My parents will always be a part of me but I need to live my life too, so I'm trying to do that,"

Skylar firmly pressed her lips together as he spoke. Her heart broke for the kid, really, he had been through something so terrible. " And you will always have us too, kid, family is forever," she replied. He nodded. " I know," he sighed. Then he suddenly grinned." Look, I told you that you were great!" he cheerfully said.

She smirked at him. " Sneaky," she sneered. " But I'm really glad the baby will have you as a big brother. He or she will be very lucky," she continued. Dick smiled. " Me too, I've always wanted a sibling," he said. " And I'll teach him, or her, all the moves, everything. We'll be unstoppable," he said. " Good, you two will be partners for a long time, I can feel it," Skylar replied.

" Can we watch Game of Thrones now?" he asked excitedly. She shook her head. " You're fourteen! God no!" she exclaimed. " Exactly, I am fourteen, I can watch it," he argued. She gave him a stern look. " You are not old enough to watch all the things that go on there,"

He gave her a challenging look. " As if I have never seen violence, blood, or death before," he pouted. " There's more than that," Skylar shot back. Dick rolled his eyes. " Sex? So what? Everyone has it,"

She lightly hit her face with her hand. " Oh my god," she murmured. " Cmon! I'm fourteen, I'm less than two years away from getting a driver's license, mind you, I already know how to drive," he said. " What's you getting a driver's license got to do with this?" she asked, confused.

He smirked. " Diversion," he said as he reached for the remote and changed the channels. " Sneaky, kid, very sneaky," Skylar chuckled and he shrugged smoothly. He snuggled to her side and they started watching the show.

When Bruce came home Alfred immediately shushed him. He furrowed his brows. " What's going on?" he asked in a low tone. Alfred motioned to the living room with his head. Bruce walked toward there with a confused look.

Then he saw Skylar and Dick sleeping and hugging each other. Skylar's blanket was covering Dick's body too and they looked peaceful. Bruce took out his phone and took a picture of them to make it his background photo. It was a nice thing to see and a reminder for the beautiful life he had. 

When Skylar woke up from her nap eventually she was alone. The only sound inside the whole house was coming from the TV that they left open before the nap. Dick wasn't on the couch anymore and Alfred was nowhere to be seen.

She walked to the kitchen to see if anyone was there but it was empty. She then checked a few other rooms but they were all empty too. It wasn't that late for them to be asleep and in the end, Skylar reached the conclusion to check the Batcave.

Her guess was right. Both of them were in there, standing in front of the huge screen, looking stressed. They were speaking to each other back and forth, almost like a fight. " Hey, hey! What's going on?" she asked.

Alfred sighed as he turned his head toward her. " We are monitoring the recon mission," he replied. " We WERE monitoring," Dick exclaimed. Skylar furrowed her brows. " What do you mean 'were monitoring'?"

Dick turned to her. " The communication is down. We cannot reach them. Something happened," he quickly said. " And I think that I should go help but he won't let me," he pouted. " Am I wrong? Whatever happened to Master Wayne and Mr.Jordan could very easily happen to you too. And we don't know if something happened to them, it could very well be a jam in the links," Alfred shot back.

" Isn't it supposed to be a recon mission? What the hell happened?" Skylar inquired. " It was, but look, just before the video and communication went off, I caught a glimpse. Alfred doesn't believe me but it looks like something," Dick said and opened up a frozen image from the video.

He pointed to a silhouette. " This doesn't seem natural, it wasn't in the previous shot. I'm telling you, that got them," he argued. Alfred sighed. " If we really think something went wrong maybe we should contact the Leauge," he said.

Skylar shook her head. " No, if it turns out to be nothing, Bruce would be furious," she murmured. She knew him enough, he usually liked to do his business alone, involving Hal was a big change to how he did his work usually, and calling the Leauge for an emergency would make him beyond furious if it turned out to be nothing.

" She's got a point," Dick crossed his arms. " Look, let me go and check it out, if it really is something then we can contact the Leauge, okay?" he asked. Alfred took a deep breath. " Does me trying to argue back even have a point?"

Dick smirked, " Not one bit," he replied and turned around to put on his costume. Skylar stopped him. " Nuh-uh. I'm not letting you go alone mister," she said sternly. Both Alfred and Dick disapproved instantly. " You're pregnant!" they both said.

Skylar shrugged. " Believe me, I know. But if Bruce and Hal are in danger I can't just sit still, I'm not that far along. I can protect myself and cause some damage. I promise I won't take on more than I can't handle and if it gets too out of hand, I'll call the Leauge," she said.

After arguing the importance of speed and the situation they were in, it didn't take her long enough to convince them. Skylar wasn't stupid, she knew she wasn't in the shape she used to be because of her baby but she still wasn't helpless. Even if she couldn't fight physically like she used to, she still had her powers. She could fly around and do what she was supposed to do on the air, from a safe distance.

On the road, Robin filled her in on the details of the mission, what Bruce and Hal found out before the communication went off. It turns out it really was a secret military base. They snuggled inside to see if the kidnapped metas were there. As they were searching, communication went down.

When they reached the facility, the West end of the building was on fire and it seemed like there had been an explosion. " Great," Skylar murmured. " I bet you ten dollars Lantern was the one who did the damage," Robin said to her.

She snickered. " Let's keep the gambling on hold until we find them?" she asked. " Fine," he breathed out. They made their way into where the smoke rose. " I'll distinguish the fire, then you come in," she instructed and left in.

It was a small room, or it used to be, a huge part of the exterior walls were torn down. The inside walls were not looking better either. She took a deep breath before she started to control the fire to eventually put it out.

Once she was done and nothing in the room indicated to a clue where Batman and Green Lantern could be they stepped into the halls. " They'll probably be in the middle of the action. We just gotta find where that is," Robin said as they were running through the place.

" Can't you like, I don't know, hack the cameras to see where they are?" she asked. She saw him smirk. His hologram computer was reflecting on the air from his arm as he spoke. " Already ahead of you grandma,"

They ran for a little bit while until Robin suddenly stopped and exclaimed loudly. " Fuck!". Skylar stopped and turned to him. " What?" she asked. He looked up from the hologram. " You are not going to like this," he murmured.

" They were right, these people look like metas," he continued and showed her a CCTV footage of a room with multiple people tied with an inhibitor collar around their neck. " Shit," she whispered under her breath.

The two shared a look. They came here to find Batman and Green Lantern but the metas were important. They were kidnapped civilians who were kept there without consent. They needed to help the first. Batman and Green Lantern were more than capable of handling themselves for a little longer. " Lead the way," she said.

In a couple of minutes, they arrived at the room. Skylar tried to open the door but it was locked. " Let me handle this," Robin said as she gently pushed her out of the way. He connected some cables to the lock and started typing on the keyboard.

About forty seconds later the door opened up. Skylar and Dick rushed in and started to untie people. " Don't worry, we're here to help you," she said loudly to calm the people down. They looked scared enough.

" Firegirl and Robin, thank god! Batman must be here too! We're saved," someone said. It took a few moments to free everyone. Skylar didn't know whether they could take off the inhibitors right now, it could lose them time too.

Robin walked beside her when he was done. " Is that everyone?" he asked to the group. " Do you know if there are any more hostages?" Skylar asked. People shook their heads or said 'no'. " It's night, they leave us be at night," someone faintly said.

" Thank you for leading me right to them," someone said from behind the group. Skylar and Robin turned around. The tall man who was standing at the doorway seemed familiar. She had never seen him before in real life, but maybe from pictures. " Deathstroke," Robin gritted through his teeth.

Yes, Deathstroke. World's Deadliest Assassin. Just Great.

" Really, saved me from a ton of work," Deathstroke taunted. " But now, I've got a job to finish. Give them to me and we won't have to sweat," he said. Skylar scoffed. " Over my dead body," she shot back. Deathstroke shrugged. " I don't really care how," he replied and lunged for an attack.

Robin jumped to the middle and started sparring with him. Skylar turned to the people. " Get out! Now! Run!" she shouted to them. The metas didn't need to be told twice. They immediately started to move, heading to the door and away from the fight that was going on.

" Robin! 52!" Skylar loudly said. They had come up with some movements and called them by numbers. He nodded and took a step back. Then he started running. With the momentum of his speed, he kicked Deathstroke on the air and then jumped backward from his body, essentially making Deathstroke fall back and him away.

Once there was a reasonable distance between them Skylar sent fire through his way to capture him in a fire circle. Flames covered him and just as she thought it was over he stepped out form the flames. She was shocked, no one ever did that before.

" You really shouldn't have done that," he glanced at the door. " Did you really think a fire could stop me? Foolish," he mocked. He initiated another fight. But this time both Skylar and Dick were fighting him at the same time.

Deathstroke pushed Robin backward, he stumbled away from them, and then completely focused on Skylar. He was better than her, that was sure. And Skylar didn't think her bursting into flames here was a good idea, if she couldn't control it the place could burn down. Plus, they've kind of prooved fire didn't really affect him.

As he was gaining the upper hand in the fight Robin jumped to his back, wrapping his legs around his shoulder and his arms around Deatstroke's head. That created a distraction for him but he quickly threw Robin away to the corner.

He then must've been bored of the fight, he threw a powerful kick to Skylar's back, completely sending her to the ground. Fortunately, at the last second, she managed to turn around and land on her back rather than her belly.

She already had fatigue due to pregnancy, but with all this fighting and that kick, her body felt like it was going to break. " Stop you asshole! Can't you see she's pregnant? Come fight me if you're a man!" Robin started to shout.

Deathstroke stopped moving as a quick surprise flashed his eyes. He seemed to be thinking. " Pregnant..." he murmured. " You're Firegirl," he said to himself. Then a scary smirk covered his face. He had an idea and Skylar felt like she was not going to like it.

" Sleepytime," Deathstroke taunted. It was the last thing Skylar remembered before he knocked him out.


	34. Thirty Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be time jumps, after every double spaced paragraph break, it's a time jump

When Skylar woke up, she was tied to a chair. She could also hear two voices having a heated debate.

" What the fuck were you thinking Slade?" The first voice hissed. " I saw an opportunity, and used it," the second replied. It was a familiar voice. She slowly opened her eyes. Deathstroke was standing a few meters away from her, talking to an older guy dressed in green robes.

He looked familiar too, Skylar knew she saw a picture of him before in Bruce's files and forced herself to remember. " What kind of an opportunity? The detective won't be pleased," The green robe guy spoke again.

" So what? Who gives a damn what Batman feels? Isn't this what you wanted? I'm giving you what you wanted all along on a silver platter old man," Deathstroke said sharply, crossing his arms. Skylar was intrigued by the conversation. Did the guy mean Bruce when he said 'the detective'? Slade looked pissed and the other guy was in deep thought with a pinch of anger.

Then another voice joined the conversation. " Gentleman, our guest is awake," a woman's voice said. Skylar hadn't spotted her before. She was standing to her left, a bit out of her sight, and she walked toward the two men.

She had dark brown hair and emerald eyes and a darker skin like the man in green robes. They kind of resembled each other too. With her interruption, all three of them turned to Skylar. " Look at that, mommy is awake," Deathstroke smirked.

Skylar tried to respond but her mouth was taped as well and she only made some loud muffled voices. " For God's sake, she's pregnant, I'm taking that off," the woman said and walked toward Skylar, taking her tape off.

" I am going to give you ten seconds to untie me or I am burning this place down," Skylar threatened, her voice as cold and threatening as she ever could. The man in green robe faintly smiled. It was as if he was mocking her. " I'd like to see you try," he mused.

Skylar furrowed her brows, imagining blasting flames throughout her body and getting out of here, but nothing was happening. " What the fuck?" she mumbled to herself. The woman standing beside her flicked her tongue and pointed to Skylar's neck. That's when she realized she had the inhibitor collar on her.

Goddamn inhibitor collars.

" Talia," the man in green called, " Please take our guest to her room," he continued. " Sure thing," Talia replied, kneeling down and starting to untie Skylar. She was confused as hell, yes, she might not have her powers as of right now, but she still knew how to fight and these people were stupid if they thought she wouldn't try to fight her way out of this.

So, as soon as her hands were free, she jumped from the chair, going straight to the target near her. Talia. As they sparred Skylar realized the other men were not participating and almost had an amused look on their faces.

Talia didn't look nervous at all too and that didn't help Skylar's confidence at all. If she was able to use her powers this fight be long over but unfortunately she didn't. Soon, Talia had defeated her and she was on her back on the ground.

" I could go for more but I can't say the same for you, what a pity," Talia said with a smirk. " Now get up and don' try anything or I won't hesitate to hurt you," she said. Skylar frowned and got up. They walked out of the room and started walking in the halls.

Skylar was eyeing the place. " Where are we?" she asked. " Infinity Island," Talia replied. Skylar furrowed her brows in response. She never heard of that place. " I'm not giving you more information, the less you know, the better," Talia said.

Skylar sighed, not wanting to give a sarcastic response that could lead to something more, and honestly, she didn't want that. " Who are you?" she asked instead. " And who's that guy in green robes?"

Talia smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile. " He's my father," she replied. Then she turned to Skylar. " You know, I've always been curious about you," she said. Skylar was even more confused now. Talia stopped and opened a door and let her inside.

It was a medium-sized room with a bathroom attached to it. There was a bed, a closet, a small bookshelf, and a huge window overlooking the view. There was either an ocean or sea beneath them, depending on where this Infitiy Island was located.

Talia closed to the door and got closer to Skylar. " What you had that I didn't, how you got him," she slowly said eyeing Skylar up and down. " Who do you mean?" Skylar asked in response. Talia chuckled. " Cmon, don't play dumb with me, Bruce,"

With the mention of his name, suddenly everything fell into place in Skylar's head. This was Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul. He was an eco-terrorist as Bruce described it. His life span was extended for hundreds of years because of something called the Lazarus Pits that gave one life back once they were dead. He was also the leader of an assassin league called Leauge of Shadows. Skylar didn't really remember the details much, Bruce had many enemies and information on them. 

" You're Talia al Ghul," Skylar hissed, taking a step back from her. Talia smiled sinisterly. " So he told you about me?" she asked. Skylar glared at her. " He told me all about you and your father's crimes," she shot back.

Talia didn't reply. " He's going to find me and rescue me, and you will pay," Skylar said. Talia chuckled. She was mocking her. " Sure. I know my father calls him a detective for a reason, but not even he is that good to find this place. My beloved doesn't know about this place and he never will," she sternly said and shut the door.

Skylar took deep breaths as she heard the door being locked. She knew that feeling jealousy must be the last thing she must feel right now but hearing her call Bruce 'my beloved' boiled Skylar.

She had her communication device back at that military center but Deathstroke must've gotten rid of it and she didn't have her phone on it, not that it would it matter, he would have got rid of it anyway.

She was stranded on this Infinity Island, without any means of communication to the outside world. She was also prisoned in this room so it's not like she could go out and ask for help. As long as she couldn't get out of this collar, she couldn't use her powers to fly out of here and she was sure no one would help. On top of all this, she was pregnant which meant she couldn't come up with high-risk plans or play ninja.

" I'm screwed," she mumbled to herself and sat on the bed. She pulled her knees toward her face and started crying. She thought of Bruce and Dick and Alfred, her family and friends, the Leauge, and prayed that someone would be able to find out where she was and get her out. 

Two weeks had passed. Skylar was still imprisoned. There were some servants who brought her food and clean clothes. All the clothes she was getting were classic maternity clothes. Extra big dresses. Skylar was not allowed outside of her room and she was going crazy. There was nothing to do. Only some books in that bookshelf and more than half were in languages she didn't know. 

The servants either didn't know English or were strictly instructed not to talk to Skylar because whenever she tried she wouldn't get a reply. Right now, the safest plan for her seemed like to get out of this collar and burst through this room, flying to wherever is closest to and get help.

She looked for stuff in the room that she could use to get the collar out or break it. She so wished she had Diana's or Clark's superstrength so she could snap this thing. Unfortunately, she didn't and there was nothing in the room that could be used for it.

She tried not to stress to not cause the baby some stress because she knew it wasn't good for him or her and although she did her best, the situation she wasn't in didn't exactly help her relax.

She needed answers. In the first few days, Skylar was sure Bruce would find out where she was but since Talia seemed so adamant that he couldn't, Skylar started to believe her. So what she needed to do was find out her location and somehow forward it to Bruce or the Leauge or someone. It was the safest way for her and the baby.

So she decided to play along. When the servant came to bring her lunch she asked to speak to Talia. She didn't know if the woman understood her but she got the name 'Talia' and was sure the message would be passed to her, hopefully.

Half an hour later Talia came. " You asked for me?" she asked in a mocking tone. Skylar bit her lip, trying to act according to her plan and not jump her. " Yes," she gritted through her teeth, " I need some fresh air," she said.

" As you pointed out earlier, I am pregnant and I've been cupped up in this room for the past two weeks. I need to stretch out my legs and get some air," she demanded. Talia crossed her arms on her chest. She glanced the window. " It's not enough for you?" she asked.

Skylar shook her head. " You stay in here for two weeks and tell me whether it's enough or not with a baby in your womb," she shot back. The two women shot each other glares for a while. " Fine," Talia finally sighed. " I've got some things to do but I'll be back,"

Like she promised Talia came back two hours later. " Do I even need to tell you not to try anything?" she asked. Skylar shook her head. " I'm more pregnant than the first time I've met you and I think we all remember how it turned out," she said.

Talia smiled. " Good," she said and opened the door for Skylar to step out. She noticed three people standing outside of her door, dressed in what she presumed was the Leauge of Shadows attire. As she and Talia started to walk the three of them started to follow.

" It's nice to know that you still consider me a threat that you have three extra shadows over my shoulder," Skylar said. Talia smirked. " Can you blame me? The second this little thing comes off you'll burn us all alive," she said, pointing to the collar.

Skylar shrugged. " Not everyone," she mumbled and the two of them shared a quick smile. It was weird. " It's not like we're ever going to take it off, until we're done with you," Talia said. Skylar furrowed her brows. " What does that mean? You're done with me?"

Talia shrugged. " You'll find out when it's time," she replied and walked ahead of her. Skylar stood there dumbfounded for a while trying to understand what she meant. She sighed and followed her. She needed to stick to her plan.

They walked out to a grand opening. It was overlooking the ocean. " The servants, do they speak English?" Skylar asked. Talia turned to her. " They do," she replied. " Even among themselves? They don't seem like natives,"

Talia gave her a confused look. " It doesn't concern you," she replied. Fuck, Skylar thought to herself. If she could learn the language maybe she could minimize the possible locations she was in.

" Miss Jones," another voice joined in on their conversation. Both she and Talia turned to the voice. It was Ra's al Ghul. " You know who I am?" she asked in surprise. Ra's smiled faintly. " Of course, it was not hard to make the connections," he said.

" The recent tabloids all talked about millionaire Bruce Wayne finally tying the knot to Skylar Jones. I know how hard the detective is trying to keep his identity hidden and I'll give him A+ for the effort but it doesn't miss my eye, and there was obviously the whole thing with Firegirl, is it? Firegirl being in Gotham, fighting alongside the Batman and all. You just got to have to the right information to connect all the pieces together,"

Skylar didn't answer. In Bruce's files, it did say that Ra's knew many things that could be a potential threat. " How far along are you?" he asked. That surprised her even more. She protectively put her hand in her stomach and took a small step back.

" Eighteen weeks," Skylar replied. " Do you need any medical assistance?" he asked again. Skylar furrowed her brows. " Why do you care? Am I not your prisoner?" she asked in return. Ra's looked at Talia and then back to Skylar.

He didn't give an answer. " Do you or do you not?" he repeated instead. Skylar sighed. " I do not," she replied. Everything was fine before she was kidnapped and she didn't feel anything being different. Plus she didn't trust these people with anything regarding her or her baby's life.

There was also the thing that, if none of this happened, she and Bruce would be going to the doctor's to find out the gender of the baby. She still had faith Bruce would get her out of this mess and didn't want to learn anything without him about their baby.

She walked around for a little while as Talia and Ra's watched her from a reasonable distance. They were talking something among themselves but Skylar couldn't hear anything. Anytime she got too close they'd stop talking.

She took a deep breath and walked toward Ra's, standing right in front of him. " I have questions. Can I trust you to give me an honest answer?" she asked. Ra's shrugged with an amused look. " Why am I here?" she asked.

" You were angry when I first got here, it's obvious you didn't plan for it, so why am I still here?" she continued. Ra's amused face had disappeared. " So you're not just a pretty face," he replied. Skylar crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

" Slade was hired for a job by some of my partners, when things went south and you showed up he seized the opportunity," he replied. " Your partners?" she asked. " You can figure out on your own I believe. You've met some of them before," he said before turning around and walking away.

Skylar stood there dumbfounded, trying to decipher his words. Who had she met before?

Talia stepped in her father's place. " I think you've had your time. Let's go," she said. " Fine," Skylar mumbled and they started walking again. After a while, they started walking Talia turned to her.

" So, tell me. How's my beloved?" she asked. Skylar frowned. " Stop calling him your beloved. And he's fine," she shot. Talia chuckled. " No need to get defensive sweetheart. He might be with you as of now, or I guess until now, but soon he'll be all mine," she replied.

Skylar stopped and turned to her, daggers flying out of her eyes. " What do you mean?" she asked. Talia smirked. " Do you really think you're getting out of here alive? Your days are numbered," she said then put her hand on Skylar's bump. " And there are not many left..."

Skylar yanked her hand away. " Watch your words, bitch. I'm getting out of here alive and you will pay the price," she threatened. Talia laughed mockingly. " Sure thing," she replied then turned to the three assassins. " Please accompany our guest here to her room, I'm not in the mood anymore,"

One of the guys grabbed Skylar's arm and pushed her to walk. Skylar kept turning her head back and glaring at Talia. If she only could access her powers, she was against murder and all, but if she could, she'd kill Talia al Ghul. 

_Skylar was going through her Instagram explore page and drinking chocolate milk out of a wine glass, because she couldn't drink alcohol for obvious reasons, when she felt Bruce sitting at the edge of the couch she was sitting on and kissing her head._

_" What are you looking at?" he asked. Skylar turned to her and showed him the screen. " Some photos of Paris, it looks beautiful, isn't it? Imagine it, us sitting here, drinking wine, enjoying the view," she smiled up at him. He looked at the screen and then back to her with a genuine smile. " Sounds like a plan," he replied and bent down to give her a kiss. " That could be our honeymoon," he whispered between their kiss. " I love that," Skylar replied._

_During their kiss, Skylar suddenly jerked away and gasped. " What's goi--?" he started to say but she grabbed his hand and put it on her belly. " Do you feel it? The baby's kicking," she smiled up to him. Bruce's face looked shocked. He gave out a faint smile. " I do," he whispered, tears forming in his face._

_" I love you," Skylar said. Her cheeks were hurting from smiling but she didn't care. " I love you," Bruce replied and kissed her again, his hand on her belly, feeling their baby's first kick. ___

__It had been three and a half months. She had been a prisoner of the Al Ghul's for almost four months. Her baby bump was now huge so she couldn't even physically defend herself. With every passing day, Skylar believed more and more that she was never getting out of this place alive. That Bruce wouldn't be able to find her and their baby in time._ _

__That day she woke up from the dream she started crying. When Talia walked in to accompany her to her walk, Ra's and she agreed that Skylar must take a walk in the fresh air once a week would be good for the baby - not that they cared about Skylar - so she did, and Talia sat next to her. Showing the rare kindness she normally never would._ _

__She rubbed her shoulder and softly asked her what was wrong. Skylar sobbed and told her about her nightmare. After that Talia told her that it sounded nice and asked her why she thought it was a nightmare._ _

__" Because I know it won't ever come true, I am going to die in here, by you and your father's hands," Skylar replied. Talia stood still, not answering her. She gave Skylar a moment to breathe than got up. " Cmon, you need to walk," she replied._ _

__Skylar took a deep breath and got up. The servant, an older woman who was stationed in Skylar's room for the past two weeks now for any emergency that could happen, helped her get up, supporting her elbow and waist._ _

__" Thanks," Skylar mumbled. She never talked back to Skylar, probably because of her orders but she could tell that the woman understood her. She always looked at her with sadness in her eyes._ _

__They walked outside and Skylar walked in the sunlight breathing fresh air for a while. " Do you still not want to learn the gender?" Talia asked from the shade of a tree, her arms crossed. " No," Skylar hissed. " I told you, I don't want to learn without him. He'll find me and we'll find out together,"_ _

__Talia sighed. " Are you still hanging out on that dream? It's never going to happen. It's been months, if he could have found this place, he would," she said. Skylar glared at her but didn't respond, instead focused on her steps. The baby was long over seven and half months, maybe even a few days over eight months, Skylar couldn't be extra sure since her concept of time wasn't exact, since she was cupped up on a remote island. Which meant she would give birth in a short while. She didn't want that to happen, not without Bruce or their family by her side._ _

__She was trying not to think about her life back in Gotham. How Bruce, Dick, and Alfred felt. Their friends from the Leauge. Her co-workers. Her parents. Oh god, did they know? Were they out of their mind? Skylar didn't give birth yet but she knew, if her baby went missing with no way of finding, she'd lose her mind._ _

__" Have you decided on a name yet?" Talia asked. Skylar rolled her eyes. " Why do you care?" she asked back. Talia shrugged. " If I like it, I might keep them after you're dead," she nonchalantly said. Skylar felt her blood boiling again and wishing for a thousandth time that this stupid collar wasn't on her neck so she could hurt Talia._ _

__Normally, Skylar wasn't the violent type. She liked sarcastic comments and comebacks. She learned how to fight as self-defense and only fought with criminals. But now, now she was a mother and this woman was telling her that she wouldn't be in her baby's life, that'd she dead on top of saying she loved the love of Skylar's life. To say that she hated Talia Al Ghul would be an understatement._ _

__" So?" Talia asked. Skylar took a deep breath. " If it's a girl, Helena. If it's a boy, Damian," she replied, not wanting to tell her the middle names Bruce and she came up with, Talia didn't deserve to know the origin of those middle names._ _

__Talia smirked. " I actually like them, good for you Jones," she fake clapped. Skylar rolled her eyes again. " Burn in hell," she muttered under her breath. Skylar wasn't stupid, she figured some things out in her time here._ _

__First of all, Ra's al Ghul's partners that Deathstroke worked for was the other guys who orchestrated the whole thing three years ago. The kidnapping of meta's to train them and turn into an army to eventually defeat the Justice Leauge. Lex Luthor, Steven Mandragora, Joker, Toyman, Ra's al Ghul, and probably many more who worked together, still worked together, in secret for their ultimate goal._ _

__Second, the job Deathstroke was hired to do was to capture the metas that the military had. They were already undocumented and the military had done the job of kidnapping and activating their genes already so it'd be easier for this supervillain club to acquire them. They were still following their old plan, somehow. When Batman, Green Lantern, Robin, and Skylar got involved and broken them out the plan failed._ _

__Third, they wanted Skylar's baby. That was obvious. Why? That was the question Sklyar couldn't figure out. Was it to reach Bruce? Why wouldn't they need her once she gave birth? Would they kill her? She needed to find these out before the birth came. She didn't want to be here when that happened._ _

__Over these months she also learned that they were somewhere in the ocean. Yes, that didn't narrow it down much but she heard some of the servants speaking and it didn't sound like any Western language. She was positive she was somewhere in the southern hemisphere, possibly close to India or Tanzania._ _

__If she could get her hands on some kind of phone or computer for a minute, her real-life nightmare would be over. But no, everyone had been so careful, and not even a piece of technology was around her._ _

__The servant walked Skylar back to her room. She wouldn't tell Skylar her name. When they got back to her prison cell, as Skylar liked to call it that, she motioned the bed to the woman. " I'm tired, I want to have a nap. Is it okay if I eat after the nap?" she asked._ _

__The woman nodded and walked her to the bed, opened it, and tucked her in. She was very kind to Skylar and that was the only positive thing about this place to her. Even though she didn't speak. " Will you tell me your name, please? It's not like I will tell everyone you spoke to me?"_ _

__She bittersweetly smiled, checked the door, and turned back to Skylar. " Lakeisha," she whispered. " Thank you," Skylar whispered back, happy to finally have learned her name._ _


	35. Thirty Five

_Skylar yawned loudly as she walked through the halls of the Wayne Manor. She smelled horrible, there was baby vomit all over her and she hadn't slept properly for the last week. All she wanted was a hot long shower and a decent sleep. The baby was amazing and she loved being a mother but all those other things proved to be a challenge for her._

_When she walked into the room she froze in her place. She knew Bruce would look after the baby while she got something to eat but she didn't expect both of them to pass out in the bed. Bruce was half leaning on the bed's head and their baby was on his chest. One of his hands was supporting the baby._

_It was so adorable. And Skylar was still so hormonal and emotional the scene before her made her teary. She took out her phone and snapped a picture of the two of them. Seeing them like that suddenly made her forget all of the things she was complaining to herself about a second ago. She didn't care she'd be covered in baby vomit, couldn't sleep or shower as long as her family was happy, peaceful, and together. ___

__Skylar jerked awake from her nap. Tears were on her eyes and she burst into crying. Lakeisha came by her side immediately and embraced her. Skylar cried into her shoulder. " I can't take this anymore, I'm afraid," she sobbed._ _

__Lakeisha was gentle with her, she played with her hair and wiped her tears away. " I don't want to have my baby here, I want to be with my family. I don't want them to take my baby away from me. I can't be away from my baby. But I can't get out of here, I can't contact anyone. I don't want to die in here,"_ _

__She continued crying and sobbing uncontrollably for a few minutes. Lakeisha was like a mother calming down her own child. When Skylar finally stopped the sobs and wiped her tears she smiled at her._ _

__" I go bring your lunch," Lakeisha said. That was the first time Skylar properly heard her voice. She wasn't hungry right now but Lakeisha gave her a look that said that she needed to eat._ _

__A few minutes later Talia walked in. " What do you want?" Skylar glared at her while sitting up and more comfortably on the bed. " Don't get all bitchy on me, I'm here to do you a favor," Talia responded._ _

__Skylar cocked an eyebrow at her. " Out of the goodness in your heart?" she smirked. Talia chuckled, leaning on one of the spikes at the end of the bed. " Sure, you could say that," she replied._ _

__" Look, I felt bad. Okay? I'm still human and still have emotions. So, I'll do you a favor. Here," she said and handed Skylar an envelope. Skylar looked at it and then back to Talia. " What am I supposed to do with them exactly?"_ _

__Talia shrugged. " Inside are a pen and paper. Write a letter. To your baby, Bruce... Whoever you want. I can't promise they'll receive it but I'll do my best," she said. Skylar furrowed her brows. " Why? You're the whole reason I'll apparently be dead after I give birth to my child,"_ _

__" Not the only reason," Talia snickered and left the room. Skylar looked at the piece of paper and the pen. Writing that letter would permanently mark that she had lost her faith in Bruce being able to find and rescue her. Mark that she would be accepting that she was going to die here._ _

__She put the envelope aside and took a deep breath. Not yet, she still had fight left in her._ _

__

__It had been two days. Skylar was miserable. Yesterday Ra's al Ghul came to her room and told her that they brought a doctor for her when she got in labor. Everyone knew that it was coming soon, any minute now._ _

__Lakeisha told her that there weren't anywhere close to the island, it had been conquered by Ra's in the 17th century and that he had enslaved the natives of the island, that they were completely shut off from the outside world. Even if there were a piece of technology it was out of the sights of the servants._ _

__It was over. Skylar was now sure of it. There was no way Bruce would be able to find her on an island erased from the maps after the 17th century, with no way of reaching of him. There was no way she would be able to take off her collar as well and even if she did, she was about to give birth soon. She couldn't possibly break out of this place, fight her way to freedom and get to civilization in one shape without hurting her baby._ _

__Tears silently started to fall again, she was an emotional mess considering everything, and she grabbed the envelope Talia left her. Lakeisha watched her for a while. " I'll be back," she muttered and got out of the room._ _

__Skylar took a deep breath and started writing._ _

___" Bruce, my love,_ _ _

___I don't know if you're gonna read this, but I hope by some twist of fate, you do,_ _ _

___I love you. With all of my heart. And I love our baby. And I'm sorry. For all of this mess. I wish I could be with you and our family through this and hold our baby while you were by my side. I've accepted my fate and my only wish is that you find our baby._ _ _

___I know we never meant for things to turn out this way but it happened anyway. We can't turn back time. The only thing you can do now is to move on and live. I now know that I won't make out of this alive. Never hold my baby, see him grow up. I know that you're hoping for a girl but I feel like it's going to be a boy. Charming and gentle like you. I hope that he does. I hate that we can't have new memories as a family with our baby by our side._ _ _

___Please know that I love you and I'm not angry at you. I could never be. I'm sure you're doing everything in your power and I'm grateful. Please be gentle toward Dick, he's a great kid destined for amazing things. I love him so much. He's like a little ball of sunshine and my partner in crime. I know that he's going to be an amazing big brother for our child, he's already awesome. I want both of you to be happy, you deserve it. Don't go too hard on Alfred, he only cares about you and looks out for you. Everyone around you, our friends, Alfred, Dick, my parents, everyone loves you. Let them in, I know it's hard, but let people be there for you. You deserve to have people around you who care about you. I can't be there for you anymore - even though it's the thing I want most, to be by your side forever - and you need the people who want to be there for you be there. Promise me this. You'll live, and be happy. Allow yourself to be happy._ _ _

___There's so much I want to say but it doesn't matter, not anymore. All that it matters is that I love you and I want you to be happy. Tell my parents I'm sorry and that I love them._ _ _

___\- Skylar Marie Wayne nee Jones_ _ _

___To my beautiful baby,_ _ _

___I'm so sorry that we never got to meet and I couldn't be your mother. I need you to know that I love you with all of my being and fought for you every second. I don't know if you'll be able to read it but if you do, I love you._ _ _

___I was so scared when I first learned that you were inside me but once I got through the initial shock I couldn't wait to get you inside my arms. I've never even held you and I know that I would die for you a thousand times. Whoever you are, whoever you turn out to be, I'll always be looking over your shoulder in the afterlife. Please be happy and live the life you'll be happy in. I want to say so much to you. I want to hold you, hug you. I want to be there for your life. Be there when you fall, be there when you learn to ride a bicycle, be there when you get your first heartbreak. Be there for your laughs and everything. It is my greatest regret in life knowing that I can't. But I want you to know that I love you- so much._ _ _

___Your mother," ____ _

____She was full-on crying now so she stopped writing. There wasn't more she could write anyway, she had summed up all of her emotions. She folded the paper carefully and placed it inside the envelope._ _ _ _

____By then Lakeisha had come back and she seemed nervous. Skylar got out of the bed and walked to her side. " What's wrong?" she asked. Lakeisha turned around and made sure the door was close._ _ _ _

____Then she grabbed Skylar's hand. " I help you," she whispered. Skylar furrowed her brows, not understanding but then she felt something being placed on her hand. When she looked at it she saw a piece of paper with some coordinates written on it and a small device that looked like a radio._ _ _ _

____" Lakeisha," Skylar exclaimed. She shushed her. " Hurry, now," she said. " Thank you," Skylar said, tears forming in her eyes again. She turned around and looked at the device. It seemed old and she tried on the frequencies._ _ _ _

____She was so glad right now that Bruce and Dick taught her about all of these stuff, and although she was not as good as them, she had to try. She tried to get on the Leauge's frequency, she didn't know whether she got it right or not, but she only had limited time._ _ _ _

____Lakeisha was looking at her with a warm smile on her face. She turned on the microphone. " Hello? This is Skylar - erm, Firegirl. I hope someone is hearing this, I am being kept by Ra's al Ghul in Infinity Island. These are the coordinates..." she said and started reading the coordinates that were written on the piece of paper._ _ _ _

____Then the doors were burst open, Talia walking in with an angry and pissed look on her face._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Bruce was in the watchtower, sitting behind a computer. It was all he was doing for the last months anyway. Diana walked up to him. " No leads?" she softly asked. Bruce shook his head. " No, nothing," he mumbled._ _ _ _

____Diana handed him a cup of coffee. He grabbed it and took a sip from it. " Bruce," she started but he put his hand up. " Don't," he warned. She sighed. There were many things she could say but it wouldn't help him in any way. The only thing that would help would be to find where Skylar was._ _ _ _

____" It's been months. We don't even know who took her. There are no fucking leads. Don't expect me to take a break when my very pregnant fiance is missing Diana, because I won't. It's my fault, she came for me, and I need to find her, but I can't!" he said sharply, a bit shouting._ _ _ _

____Diana frowned, biting down on her lip. " I know, we all understand what you're going through, but it won't help anything if you're tired and working non-stop. You need to rest so you can work with a relaxed mind," she said._ _ _ _

____Bruce glared at her. " Relaxed? How can I relax Diana? Are you hearing yourself? This is--" he was interrupted by J'onn and Clark bursting into the room they were in. " We've got something," Clark said._ _ _ _

____Jonn walked to the computer and started typing something. " I had opened up our communication link in case she tried to contact, and here, this was picked up seven minutes ago," he said and opened up a voice message._ _ _ _

____" Hello? This is Skylar - erm, Firegirl. I hope someone is hearing this, I am being kept by Ra's al Ghul in Infinity Island. These are the coordinates..." the voice said. His heart skipped a bit as soon as he heard her say hello. Bruce was so happy he could cry. " It's her," he whispered._ _ _ _

____Clark patted his shoulder. " We've got it," he said. " Someone write down the coordinates," Diana said. Bruce got up. " No need, I've got them," he said and walked out of the room. The others followed him as he boarded the jet._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____" What the fuck?" Talia exclaimed. " I feel sorry for you, I give you a favor and this is how you repay me? Are you aware of what you have done you bitch?" she yelled at Skylar. Then she turned to Lakeisha who looked mortified. " You're dead,"_ _ _ _

____Skylar furrowed her brows. " No, fuck you! You act like you have some moral compass, oh you did me a freaking favor? You are the daughter of the man who is responsible for my kidnapping. The woman who is holding me, prisoner, mocking me and telling me I'll die and take my baby away. Are you aware of what you are doing? Fuck you," she shouted, not being able to contain her feelings anymore._ _ _ _

____Talia looked enraged. She slapped Skylar so hard that she fell backward to the end of the bed. " How dare you disrespect me? Fuck you!" she shouted as she continued on hitting Skylar. She was on the ground, trying to protect her belly. Normally, in a situation like this you needed to be protecting your head but no, Skylar had already accepted her fate, her baby was more important._ _ _ _

____There were cussing from Talia and crying from Lakeisha when it happened. Skylar put her hand up. " Wait, wait, WAIT!" she screeched. Talia took a step back. " What?" she roared. " You need to stop and get the doctor. My water just broke,"_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____" How long till we get there?" Diana asked. " Less than twenty minutes," Bruce muttered. He was mad at himself. He should have known. He should have fucking known. The only person who could disappear and not be found would be Ra's, he had been doing that for centuries._ _ _ _

____" I should have known," he said under his breath. " Bruce, don't," Clark said. He just glared at him. " What's his reasoning behind anyway? Revenge?" J'onn asked. Bruce sighed. " Something like that," he murmured. " He wants me to marry his daughter and take over the Leauge of Shadows,"_ _ _ _

____" Apparently, I'm the only one who can continue his vision," he muttered. He heard the others sigh in frustration. It made sense why Ra's had Skylar. The baby was Bruce's, Bruce knew that he knew his identity, and if he couldn't have Bruce, he could have his child, train him to be his successor. " I'm coming Sky," he whispered._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Skylar was now on the edge of the bed. Lakeisha was behind her, making her sit straight up. Talia was walking back and forth. They were waiting for the doctor. " How could this happen? There were still time,"_ _ _ _

____" Shock trigger birth," Lakeisha said sternly as she held Skylar's hand and wiped some of the blood from her face. " Ugh," Talia groaned. That's when the doctor burst in, started to give out some instructions and kneel in front of Skylar._ _ _ _

____She looked at her vagina than to her. " Okay, it looks like the birth has started. I need you to take deep breaths and start to push when I tell you to, okay?" she quickly said. Skylar nodded, not having enough energy._ _ _ _

____The woman's accent seemed like Indian to Skylar, and she only assumed that she was somewhere in the Indian Ocean, finally having some kind of an idea to where she was. Not that it mattered anyway. She hoped her message got through- to someone and even if it didn't, after she gave birth, she knew what would follow. And that she was in excruciating pain without any painkiller and was giving birth._ _ _ _

____" Push," the doctor said and Skylar did as told. It was hurting, so much. She knew giving birth was painful but she never imagined it to be like this. She was taking deep breaths and pushing, squeezing Lakeisha's hand and crying._ _ _ _

____This was not how it was supposed to go. She should be in a proper hospital with Bruce by her side, holding her hand and telling her it will all be alright. Dick, Alfred, some of their friends and her parents outside of that room, waiting to meet the baby. It was not supposed to be imprisoned on a stranded island by an immortal evil guy and her equally bitchy daughter admitting to kill her and take her baby away. No._ _ _ _

____" I can't!" she screamed as she tried to push. " You can, cmon, I know you can," Lakeisha said. " I can't," Skylar exclaimed again, her crying turning into sobs right now. " I can't breathe," she yelled. Everyone's attention turned to her collar. It had been there for months, Skylar gained weight through her pregnancy, no one thought of how tight it must be now._ _ _ _

____The doctor turned to Talia. " Can we take that thing off?" she asked. " She already looks so weak and not in good condition. There's a good chance she won't make it," she continued. Talia looked frozen. " No," she mumbled. " I'm sorry, no," she continued. Skylar continued crying. This was not how she was supposed to die, this was horrible._ _ _ _

____" Cmon, push, it's almost over," the doctor said. " I can't," she whispered as she tried again. Talia kneeled next to the bed, grabbed Skylar's other hand. " You can, I know you can, think of how much you want to kill me, and push," she encouraged._ _ _ _

____Skylar wanted to laugh at this situation. Talia being helpful to her? Fuck her. She hated her. And she used that hate and all the times Talia boiled her blood and used it to push. She wasn't sure when it'd be all over, every part of her body was hurting and she didn't know how much of the baby got out. " You're a bitch," she muttered. Talia chuckled and squeezed her hand. " Yes, I am. And now, push!"_ _ _ _

____She was still pushing when a baby cry absorbed all the noise in the room. Talia chuckled as she put some of Skylar's now sweaty and bloody hair away. " You did it, Jones, you really did it!" she said. Skylar squeezed her hand and pulled her closer. " You... you promised... the letter..." she managed to let out._ _ _ _

____Her head was dizzy, there was a faint ringing on her ears and pain exuded all over her body. Talia nodded firmly. She then turned to the doctor. The doctor had just cleaned and wrapped the baby in a towel._ _ _ _

____Talia turned back to Skylar who was taking slow breaths. " Jones, the baby's here," she said. Skylar slowly opened her eyes, her vision was blurry. " It's Damian," Talia continued. Skylar's eyes closed, she didn't have the power to keep them open anymore. She didn't have the power to do anything anymore._ _ _ _

____" Damian..." She whispered as a faint smile covered her face. And then her consciousness faded away._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____" Where is she?" Bruce exclaimed as he burst through the doors, the others behind him following closely by, he had gotten the location of Ra's room from some of the people they've encountered. He was standing in front of the glasses, holding a drink._ _ _ _

____He turned around. " Aah, detective," he said. " I won't ask again," Bruce warned. Ra's sighed. " Would you like a drink? I think you'd like one," he replied. Bruce glared at her. " Where is my fiance?" he said roughly._ _ _ _

____Ra's stepped toward Bruce and got closer to him. " There was an.. erm, an accident. I'm sorry, truly," he said. Bruce furrowed his brows. " No," he whispered. " No, you're lying," he continued. Ra's then held something up. It was a ring. Skylar's ring. The one Bruce proposed with. There was a bit of blood on it._ _ _ _

____Bruce grabbed it. " No," he whispered again, his voice cracking. This couldn't be happening, he was too late. He fell to his knees, his body not being able to hold him anymore. " No," he whispered._ _ _ _


	36. Thirty Six

* 12 years later *

_Bruce was standing inside the room on the yacht, watching Talia as she poured a drink. " What do you want?" he asked her. She looked over from her shoulder. " Would you like a drink beloved?" she asked in response._

_He crossed his arms on his chest and grunted. Talia shrugged. " Fine," she sighed, " Let's get straight to business then," she put down her glass and turned to Bruce. " My father is dead," she said sternly._

_" Which father?" Bruce asked. Talia gave him a look. " How many fathers do I have?" she shot. Then she took a deep breath. " Ra's Al Ghul is dead- for good this time. He has been assassinated," she stated._

_Bruce cocked a brow. " Isn't that ironic?" he mused. Talia rolled her eyes. " What does that have anything to do with me?" he asked. She flicked her tongue. " The same person who came for my father is also coming for... for, him," she stuttered._

_" Who?" Bruce asked. Talia took a deep breath and walked away from him, to the curtains. She opened them to a reveal a boy dressed in black, holding a duffel bag. " Father," the boy said. Bruce furrowed his brows._

_Talia put one of his hands on the boy's shoulder and turned to Bruce. " Meet Damian Wayne," she said. Bruce felt like he had been shot at the head. Damian walked toward him and stood before him. " Huh, I thought you'd be taller Father," he said._

_Bruce was looking at him. The boy looked exactly like him, the hair, the bone structre, the looks. Everything. Except for one thing. His eyes. His eyes were green and shined- just like her's used to._

_" Damian, give us a second please," Talia said. Damian huffed and got out of the room. Bruce turned to Talia. " Explain," he ordered. He was beyond angry. His son was alive. " You told me that they were dead, they were both dead. For ten years, I've lived with that, EXPLAIN,"_

_Talia put her hands up protectively. " You know my father, when you wouldn't join, and when he found out you were having a kid, he had made up his mind, you know how little say I have when his mind is up, beloved, calm down," she tried to explain._

_Bruce suddenly gasped. " Is she- Is she alive too? Did you lie about that too?" he asked. Talia could see his desperation even under his mask. She frowned. " I'm afraid that part was true. She really died, while giving birth. The only thing we lied about was Damian, he had been well all this time and we have trained him to take over after my father one day,"_

_" Which is why you have to protect him. It was Slade who murdered my father. Because he found out his plans about Damian. You see, he always thought he would take over one day but when Damian came into the picture, he knew he wouldn't. And the fact that he delivered him to my father's hands on a silver platter made him even angrier. I will take care of it, but while I do, I need to assure Damian is safe. And who would protect him better than you, his own father, right?"_

_Bruce took a deep breath. " I can't understand how you can do such a heartless thing, not telling me my son was alive all this time, and telling it to me now that his life is in danger? You're going to hell Talia," he said. Talia grabbed her drink and took a sip. " You're talking as if I don't know that already sweetheart," she replied._

_Bruce was honestly surprised by himself by how well he had it all together at this moment. He had thought he both lost the love of his life and his baby but now he found out that his son was alive and well. " Anything else I should know?" he asked calmly._

_" Oh yeah," Talia mumbled as she took out a small envelope. " I might not be the fastest delivery but I keep my promises," she said as she handed it to Bruce. " Read it when you're alone," she said. ___

__Bruce woke up from his dream. It wasn't exactly a dream but a memory that happened two years ago. Talia bringing Damian to him. She had taken care of the problem and was now the leader of the Leauge of Shadows but Damian was with him. He chose to stay with Bruce and the others even though their relationship was still rocky._ _

__Apparently Talia told Damian as he was growing up that she was his mother and Ra's was his grandfather - since they saw themselves as that already, and upon the whole ordeal Damian trusted people around him even less now._ _

__He was around twelve years old but was trained from childhood. He was a killing machine and that scared Bruce. The boy was filled with so much rage and sorrow. Just like he was when he was his age. He needed to be his guide to a better path, but it was hard. Every time he tried he couldn't get past the barriers Damian put out and looking at him always reminded him of her. And it became too painful._ _

__A lot had changed in the last twelve years. Losing Skylar had affected everyone. The Leauge had expanded even more. There were so many members and with the help of Cyborg, they were able to figure out the mother box technology better, creating Zeta tubes. Zeta tubes allowed them to go from place to place instantly, like transportation. Alien technology came really useful in situations like that._ _

__Clark and Lois had a son as well, he was almost the same age as Damian. Everyone had moved on. Dick had grown up, he was leading The Team along with some other heroes who used to be sidekicks- although they preferred to be called apprentices. He was now Nightwing. There had been other Robins. There was Jason, who had died at the hands of the Joker. After him there was Tim Drake. He had grown up and was now the Red Robin. He sometimes worked with Dick along with the Team._ _

__The latest Robin was Damian. He had grown into the role. It was still a challenge. ' Justice, not vengeance' was the motto Bruce was trying to teach Damian. He had to admit, it was sometimes even hard for Bruce to keep following that but he had to. So he was restraining himself. Not taking his vengeance on Ra's for Skylar and Joker for Jason was his hardest moments._ _

__He tried to understand Damian, he really did. His life had been hard. But Bruce believed in Damian. He was the son of Skylar. He had to be better, all of them had to be. For her. She wouldn't want them to get lost in their emotions and make mistakes._ _

__Losing Skylar, that had been rough on Bruce. For the first ten years, he had thought he lost both her and their child. He now at least had their son by his side. He was sure that made her happy. But it was so hard to live on without her. Bruce was taken over by grief, sadness, and anger._ _

__She had come for him. Because Deathstroke put a signal breaker at that military base so he and Hal lost communication to the others but they were fine. But Skylar didn't know that and she came or him. She got taken and kept hostage for months while pregnant because of him._ _

__He had promised her that he would protect her and wouldn't let anything happen to her but he had failed, yet again, and this time it cost Skylar her life. Bruce would never forgive himself. He didn't want to live anymore. After losing so many people the first person he properly let in was Skylar. And she was the love of his life. Because of her that he allowed himself to be happy. And that he lost it. After her, he didn't want to live anymore._ _

__But he knew that taking the easy way out wouldn't erase his sins and wouldn't honor her memory. So he kept on living, fighting injustice but as a shell of a person he used to be. He didn't deserve to be happy, not after his mistakes. So his life purpose was to honor Skylar's memory._ _

__When he walked into the Batcave he found Dick and Damian fighting, again. Ever since Damian came to their lives Dick started to visit more often to spend time with Damian. Even though Damian was acting rude all the time Dick still wanted to try his best. He thought he owed it to Skylar. It still wasn't easy._ _

__" Haven't you heard? I'm the blood son Grayson," Damian shot. " Bloodthirsty is more like it!" Dick shot back. Bruce sighed. " Damian! Enough!" he shouted. " Go to your room," he said in a lower tone._ _

__Damian pouted. " This is my home. You cannot tell me what to do," he argued. " I am your father and I am telling you to go to your room," Bruce replied. Damian was standing on the platform where they kept all the suits. He came down._ _

__" My father? My father, huh?So we're family? I sure as hell don't think so, you don't act like my family," he pouted. Dick got up from his seat. " Kid, don't go there," he warned. " Shut up Grayson," Damian said and turned back to Bruce._ _

__" If we're family why do you imprison me here? Why don't none of you tell me anything? I'm always behind the curtains, left out of the loop. You don't even tell me about who my real mother is! I have been lied to all my life, the woman I thought who was my mother turns out to be non-other than the capturer of my real mother. No one tells me anything and you expect me to trust you?"_ _

__Dick lost it. " Are you kidding me? Why do you think we all try to keep up with all your Damianess? All your rude comments, attitudes, disrespect? It's not because you're some sunshine on a rainy day, it's because of her memory that we are trying to hold on to. So maybe instead of being a little bitch like you always are, you should try being a little more decent so we can see that we can trust you for you,"_ _

__Damian looked furious. Like he could explode at any moment. Instead he took a deep breath. " I'll be up in my room," he gritted and walked away. Dick groaned and turned away to face Bruce. " I'm sorry," he mumbled. " I shouldn't have said that,"_ _

__Bruce turned to Alfred. " Can we have some privacy?" he asked. Alfred nodded. " Of course. I'm sure Master Damian has new duties for me to comply to anyway," he said and walked out. Bruce put his hand on Dick's shoulder._ _

__" I'm not mad," he said. Dick looked up in surprise. " You're not?" he asked in a low tone and for a second Bruce saw him as the little boy he used to be when he found him. He shook his head. " No," he said. " You got angry, it happens. And, maybe he had to hear some of it," he mumbled._ _

__Dick faintly smiled. " Yeah," he mumbled. " Look, erm, I actually wanted to thank you. Ever since he showed up, you've been here a lot more than you used to be. Not your fault, it's mine. I know I haven't been there for you like I should have ever since, uhm, you know. And I'm sorry about that, I should have been," Bruce confessed._ _

__" Well, of course," Dick said, " Even though he hates me he's my brother. I made a promise to her, that I'd be his big brother. I'm trying to uphold that," he continued. Bruce nodded. " And you're doing a great job, she'd be proud of you,"_ _

__Dick smiled again. " Thanks," he replied. " It's going to be a long road with him but we can't give up. He's family," Bruce said. " I know," Dick said. " But, I think you've been setting something aside. You've got to talk to him Bruce. He deserves to know about her. He was partly right too. We don't talk about her, we can't even say her name but he's her son. Sure, he can't know everything about the mission and all that stuff but it's his mother. Don't you think after how he was brought up we at least owe him the truth for him to trust us? Trust goes both ways, you've taught me that when I was a prick like him in his age. If we don't trust him, he won't trust us as well," he said._ _

__Bruce chuckled. " When did you get so wise?" he mused. Dick smirked. " Must be all of those philosophy books you made me read," he answered. Bruce laughed again and hugged him. " You know," he said. " He might be my biological son but he's not my only son, you know that, right?" he asked. Dick hugged him tighter. " I know, no worries old man," he replied._ _

__After their hug Bruce took a deep breath. " There's something I need to show you," he said and walked to the computer. Dick followed him and leaned on the desk, crossing his arms. Bruce opened a drawer and took out an envelope._ _

__" Talia gave this to me when she brought Damian to me. Said she wrote it. I've never opened it, I was scared to do so. Until two days ago," he said. Dick furrowed his brows. " Two days ago, it was..." he stopped. They both knew. Her birthday._ _

__Bruce nodded. " Yeah, you should read it," he said. Dick shook his head. " It's private," he refused. " No," Bruce argued, " I know, I know that you've been feeling guilty all this time for bringing her. Don't give me that look, you have. I should have done a better job about it. You were a kid. You shouldn't have grown up with a burden like that on your shoulders,"_ _

__Dick shrugged. " I had baggage on me anyway. And look how I turned out, I'd say it's not bad," he said playfully. Bruce nodded. " You turned out better than I imagined but it still doesn't change the fact that I made a mistake. Anyway, read this. There's something in there that you should see," he said and handed it to him._ _

__He took a deep breath and opened the envelope up. He opened the letter and started reading hesitantly. As he read the part Bruce was hinting at he got teary. Once he was done he put the letter down and covered his face with his hand._ _

__Bruce embraced him. He didn't blame Dick for crying, when he finally gathered enough courage to read he bawled like a baby. " Stop blaming yourself," he murmured. Dick started crying. " I couldn't protect her," he cried into Bruce's shoulder. " You were just a kid, and I couldn't protect her either. You're not to blame, let it go,"_ _

__

__After his talk with Dick, Bruce went to Damian's room. He was sitting on his bed, frowning and reading a book Bruce provided for him. " Oh, so you have decided to bless me with your visit your grace?" Damian mocked. Bruce didn't show emotion. " Get dressed, we're leaving in 5," he said._ _

__Half an hour later they were on some roof watching over the street. " Why are we here? What are we looking for?" Damian asked. " Suspicious activity. There are some rumors that Penguin and his men might pay this place a visit," Bruce replied._ _

__" Penguin... That's the short fat guy with that abomination of a huge hat, right?" Damian asked. " Yes," Bruce answered. He then took a deep breath and walked next to Damian. " I thought that while we wait, we could talk," he offered._ _

__Damian turned to him and crossed his arms. " If this is the thing with Grayson--" he started but Bruce interrupted him. " No, it's about what you said. You are family and it's my fault that I haven't talked to you before. You're right, you have been lied your whole life. It's not right of me to keep doing something similar," he let out._ _

__Damian was surprised. He turned to Bruce. He didn't seem to wear his usual unbothered look. He looked just like a kid. And just for a split second, his face was just like Skylar's when she would get upset. His eyes shined brightly. " Yeah?" he asked in a croaked tone._ _

__" You have your mother's eyes, Damian. They shine just like hers," Bruce said. Damian's lips twirled up. That was nice, to learn that he had at least one trait of her. " Your mother," Bruce sighed, " She was the love of my life. When I had her in my life, that was the happiest I have ever been. She was my light. She was so brave, so positive, so full of life. She brightened up the room she walked into. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky to have her walk into my life. I loved her more than anything," he said._ _

__Damian didn't speak, he was simply listening. " Her name was Skylar Marie Jones," Bruce croaked. It had been so long since he said her name out loud but even after all this time, it hurt. So much. " She hated her middle name," Bruce smiled and Damian smiled too. " That's why she wanted to give you a middle name you wouldn't hate," he continued._ _

__" I have a middle name?" Damian asked, turning to Bruce. Bruce nodded. " Yes. It's Tommy, after my father. She came up with it. In fact, she knew you were going to be a boy. I was thinking of a girl. So she came up with your name while I came up with a girl's name. Now that I think about it, it didn't matter whether you were a boy or a girl. The only thing that matters is that you're with me. With your family. I just wish she could have been there too,"_ _

__Damian nodded. " Yeah, me too," he muttered. " Tommy, I kinda like it, it's not horrible," he said. Bruce smiled and patted his son's shoulder. " Yeah, it's not," he said. " What did she look like?" Damien asked._ _

__" We have many photos back at home, I can show you if you want," Bruce offered. " I, I'd like that I think," Damian replied. They stood in silence for a while. Then Bruce took out something and handed it to Damian. " This is a letter from your mother, real mother. She wrote it before she gave birth to you. I think you should read it, could help you put some things to perspective," he said._ _

__Damian took the envelope. Suddenly, even though it wasn't, it felt so heavy. He never got to meet his mother but these were her words. This was his chance to meet his mother. " Okay," he murmured, putting it into his pocket. This place didn't feel like the right time to meet his mother._ _

__He took a deep breath and turned to his father. " So when is the ugly asshole showing his face?" he asked._ _


	37. Thirty Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bialya is a fictional middle eastern country in the DC universe

After talking to Bruce, Dick zeta tubed into The Team's headquarters. He was now the leader of their team, just like he was promised. At first, because he was young, the title belonged to Kaldur but he said he would give it to him once he grew up.

Their Team had expanded as well. It first started with him, Kid Flash - Wally and Aqualad- Kaldur'ahm. Then they found Connor in a Cadmus facility. He was a project done by Lex Luthor. A clone made by both Superman's and Lex's DNA. Thankfully, Connor wasn't anything like Lex. M'gann, Miss Martian, joined them. Artemis followed soon after. The six of them had fought many villains and stopped criminals.

As they grew up new youngsters their age when they founded the Team joined in. There was Beast Boy- Garfield, Blue Beetle-Jaime Reyes, Wondergirl- Cassandra - although she preferred Cassie and Raven-Rachel. Tim occasionally joined them but it was not hard to get why, he was trying to spend more time with his girlfriend Cassie. Barbara, Dick's girlfriend who was Batgirl joined them often too. When she was not too busy in Gotham.

When he walked into the room he found Garfield, Rachel, and Jaime playing Monopoly on the floor. Connor, Kaldur, and Wally were watching a sport's game on the TV. M'gann, Artemis, Cassie and Barbara were on the table behind them talking and laughing.

" Hey honey," Barbara said as she got up and walked up to Dick to give him a kiss. " Hey didn't know you'd be here," Dick replied. She shrugged. " Wanted to surprise you, they told me you were with Bruce. Is it Damian?" she asked.

He nodded. " How did you know?" he asked. She smirked. " You've got your battle scars all over you," she pointed out. Dick looked down at his arms. Damian and he were training before they started fighting. " Oh yeah," he mumbled.

" Anyway, do you feel any better now? I wanted to give you your space for the past days," she murmured. For the last twelve years, Dick went back to Wayne Manor and they all commemorated Skylar on her birthday. It was a hard day for each of them. Dick faintly smiled. " Yeah, I'm better," he replied.

They walked to the couch and sat down. " What are we watching?" he asked. " Ugh, it's not worth watching anymore," Wally groaned and changed the channel. " Hey, I was curious," Connor said.

" They were losing, it doesn't matter," Wally replied and leaned back on the couch. " So, how was Gotham?" he asked Dick. He shrugged. " Same old," he replied. " Gotham never changes," Artemis joined in on to the conversation. She used to live in Gotham and attended the same school Dick and Barbara did thanks to Bruce anonymously giving her a scholarship to Gotham Academy after she joined the Team.

Dick pointed his fingers shaped like a gun at her. " She's right," he commented. " What have you guys done in my absence?" Dick asked. " Nothing much really," M'gann said. " We cleaned the place a bit," Cassie added.

" Yeah, we also dived into the attic and you'll never guess what we found," Garfield said excitedly as he got up and walked to Dick. Jaime and Rachel giggled. " We knew you were boy wonder but we didn't know you were a fanboy too," Garfield said and took out his phone.

He showed him a picture they found in the attic. It was a photo of Dick from when he was thirteen years old. He was dressed in a Hogwarts uniform, the robes, wand, scarf, and everything. In the original photo, Skylar was next to him in her Ravenclaw robes but Garfield had just taken a close up of Dick. She brought her to Wizarding World for his birthday.

Dick's face hardened and he furrowed his brows. " Where did you find this?" he asked sharply. The atmosphere in the room had just changed. One second ago Dick was comfortably sitting at the couch, one of his arms over Barbara, now he was sitting up, his face mad and looking at Garfield.

" The attic," Garfield stuttered. " Dick," Barbara started but he caught her off. " No, no, what makes you think you, any of you have the right to go through my stuff? And then making fun of it?" he raised his voice.

Garfield sighed. They had never seen Dick act like that before. He was always the calm one, the negotiator. " I, I, I'm sorry," he stuttered. Dick shook his head and got up from the couch and stormed out of the room.

" Sorry, he's had a rough couple of days," Barbara said as she got up to follow him but her phone vibrated. " Oh, shoot, Batman needs me. Wally?" she asked turning to him. Wally was Dick's best friend. They had been best friends and the two of the three founders of the team. They had always been close. Wally got up. " On it," he murmured and sped away after Dick.

When Wally walked into Dick's room,his door was open so he presumed he went in there, he found him leaning on the bookshelf on his elbow. " Hey," he murmured. Dick didn't respond. Wally sat on his bed, facing his back. " Wanna talk about what happened back there?"

Dick turned around. His eyes were red. " I'm sorry," he said. " It's okay, I'm here," Wally replied. " You know it's hard for me these days every year," Dick mumbled sitting next to Wally as he nodded. He was aware. His aunt and uncle, Iris and Barry, they were friends with Bruce and Skylar. His uncle particularly liked Skylar, they had a good friendship. He didn't know all the details but he knew enough.

" I've found out some stuff about, her, you know? What she thought of me and all. And that picture, we had taken it together. I got whelmed by emotion," Dick explained. Wally patted his back. " Oh, well, does this new information make you feel better or worse?" he asked.

Dick turned to him. " Do you know why I wanted to be the leader of the Team? Right from the start?" he asked. Wally shook his head. Dick faintly smiled. " When we first met, she asked me what my name was short for. And then told me Richard meant strong, brave leader. That she could see me becoming one easily. It was only the second time we were hanging out and she saw that potential in me. I wanted to honor that,"

Wally sighed. " Is that why you got so upset when Batman gave the title to Kaldur?" he asked. Dick nodded. " Oh, I see," Wally mumbled. Dick buried his face into his hands. " All this time, I felt so guilty. It was my fault she got taken. I wasn't strong enough to take Slade down or stop him from taking her. Even before that, I'm responsible for her going there. She was not supposed to come but when she saw my worry about Batman and Green Lantern, she jumped to action. She should have stayed at the house, sleeping. It was all my fault," he said.

" You can't think like that man, she was one of us. She knew every mission has its risks. I know this isn't any consolation but you can't keep blaming yourself. I'm sure she wouldn't want that," Wally softly said. Dick started crying. Wally has only ever seen him cry once. It was after they got the news that Skylar was dead. After that, he never really showed much emotion, just like Batman.

Wally hugged Dick. He sobbed into his shoulder. " It was like losing my parents for the second time and this time I actually had a hand it in Wally," Dick sobbed. " I'm sorry you had to go through that, twice, but we're here for you, all of us. You still do have a family. You can't keep blaming yourself for past mistakes.No one has forgotten her. Believe me when I say this. You know everyone looks at her statue at Hall of Justice with admiration, and the hologram in the Watchtower... But don't you think she would be disappointed to see you like this, even after all this time. She'd want you to be happy," he said.

" You're right," Dick said in a low tone. " You're right, it's just, so much happened these last few days. I'll get it together," he mumbled. " Okay," Wally replied. " But just know that if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you, buddy,"

Their conversation got interrupted by the alarm going off. They both sighed and went to the living room where the large screen opened up, everyone was standing next to it. Martian Manhunter was on the screen. " We have just found three different new spots for meta-human trafficking. The Leauge will be handling two of them you are on the other one. I'm sending the coordinates," he said and ended the call.

Dick looked over to the team. " You heard him, everyone, suit up!" he said. Everyone rushed to the room where they kept the suits. Dick stopped Garfield. " Hey Gar, can we talk?" he asked. Garfield stopped and nodded. " Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that," he said.

Gar nodded. " It's okay, I overstepped my boundaries a bit," he replied. " Water under the bridge?" Dick asked. Garfield smiled. " Yes," he answered. Dick put his arm on his shoulder. " Let's go join the others," 

As Dick did a flip kick he took care of the last guy. _' Is that all of them?' _Kaldur asked through the mind link. Ever since M'gann joined the Team, since she was a Martian, she had the ability to connect everyone's minds, creating a psychic link. With that, during missions, they could talk and strategize through their minds without someone else hearing them.__

____

____

_' Should be, I just did a sweep of the area, no one else is here' _Wally said. _' Beta Team, have you been able to locate the metas?' _Dick asked. Ever since their numbers increased they have divided the team into two factions. Team Alpha and Beta. M'gann was leading the Beta team. _' Affirmative' _M'gann replied. _' Okay, meet you outside in 5' _________

________The team prepared to go outside. Kaldur, Artemis, and Wally lead the criminals who they caught outside. Dick was suspicious, he had an unease feeling. Connor stayed behind with him, he was holding the leader of the operation here. " What's going on?" he asked out loud._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick didn't turn around as he eyed the room they were in. They were in a warehouse. " I have a hunch," he murmured. " Do you want me to use my vision?" Connor asked. As a clone, he didn't have all the abilities Superman had but he had similar ones. For one, being the infrared vision in which he could see heat signatures._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________However, before Dick could answer a gas bomb exploded beneath their feet. As Dick was coughing he spotted a black silhouette jumping toward Connor, a groan from someone and the silhouette running away. Just before the silhouette walked out he turned back for a second, eyes locking with Dick. He was wearing a full-body suit, his face was covered as well. The only thing Dick knew for sure, it was a Leauge of Shadows Assassin._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" Shit," Connor yelled. Dick turned back to him. The leader was dead, he was stabbed. "Ooh, this is not good," Dick murmured. " What does it mean?" Connor asked him. " Someone didn't want him talking," he sighed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________When the Team came back after turning over the criminals to the authorities, the youngsters immediately went to sleep. It was around midnight when they came back. Dick started to write the report on the mission._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________About an hour into it Wally, Artemis, Connor, and M'gann came to the room. They had one huge screen in the living room and one small room with all of the technological devices so they could work better. Dick was in that room now._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" We're going out to party, wanna call Barb and join us?" Artemis asked. " No, thank you," Dick replied. " Cmon! We could turn this double date to a triple one in a second!" Wally insisted. Dick turned around in his chair. " Guys, we'd love to, just not today. But have fun," he smiled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Wally frowned. " Fine, but your loss dude," he said. Dick smirked. " I'll take it," he replied. He watched his friends turn around and walk away. He took a deep breath and turned around, facing the screen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The truth was, he finished writing the report about twenty minutes ago. He was thinking about that assassin he saw. There was nothing about the guy in his database. He got up and grabbed his jacket. Maybe Bruce had a lead on him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________It was near 7 AM when he walked into Batcave through the Zeta Tube. Of course, Bruce was there working. That wasn't surprising. Ever since her, he was all work. Whether it be being Batman or Wayne Enterprises, he was always working._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" Dick," Bruce murmured. " Why are you here? Is something wrong?" he asked. Dick shook his head. " Hold your horses old man, everything's alright," he replied. " I'm actually here to run something by you but more importantly, is Barbara around?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce sighed. " We came back a few hours ago she was tired so I told her to get some sleep in your room," he replied. " Okay. Have you read the report?" Dick asked. " You're here about the Assassin," Bruce replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick smiled and nodded. Even though he loved the Team and working with them, there was this special understanding between him and Bruce. Sometimes they didn't even need to speak. They understood each other._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" Yeah, I ran him in the system, nothing came up. I was hoping you could help," Dick said. " Let me see," Bruce murmured and started typing. Everyone in the Batfamily, that's what some people called them, had a camera in their masks. It was a safety precaution Bruce decided on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce froze the picture and zoomed in on the mask. He ran the picture through his database. Nothing significant came up. The only information was that this particular assassin came into the picture about six years ago. There were no records before that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" So what do you think?" Bruce asked. Dick sighed. " Something is going on, I can feel it. Call it intuition," he replied. " It just doesn't make sense Bruce. Why would a Leauge of Shadows Assassin kill the leader of an illegal meta human traffick ring? ," Dick asked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" We've got Mandragora, Ra's is dead. Luthor seemingly gave up on the quest. Joker has his own business. There shouldn't be anyone left," Bruce replied. " Except, what if Talia has taken her father's position? We know she has taken over the Leauge of Shadows, I don't see why not she wouldn't continue that thing, it benefits her too in the long run. Something's stirring, I'm telling you,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce didn't answer right away. In the end, he smiled. " Good thinking," he commented. Dick rolled his eyes. " Of course you thought of that," Dick mumbled under his breath. " But what is their plan?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The two stayed silent for a while and then shared a look as both of them had the same idea. " The UN voting!" they exclaimed at the same time. " The law for the meta-human legislative is being voted on tomorrow night. The Bailyan diplomat, one of the hot spots for the kidnapping of meta-humans around the world wants to vote for them to be legal so the UN, through him the Leauge can take action because their forces aren't enough," Dick said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" And if there are not enough votes, all of the meta-humans become illegal. This means the Justice Leauge loose legislation and jurisdiction in most of these places because most of our members are metahumans," Bruce said. " This is bad," Dick added. Bruce frowned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Bruce took a deep breath. " How much are you willing to bet the General Secretary of the UN wants this law to fail?" he mused. Dick smirked. " Luthor? He'd make money on it," he replied. " So it is agreed, both Luthor and Talia are still in the game,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" We need to come up with a plan," Bruce said. Dick was surprised at that. Bruce usually was the one who came up with the plans and then instruct everyone. Maybe her letter really did spark some change in him. " I'll go wake up Barbara," he mumbled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick went to his room and found Barbara snoring a little. He chuckled to himself and sat by her side. " Babs, wake up," he softly said. " Mmm, ten more minutes," Barbara replied, turning her back on Dick._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He leaned toward her. " But Bruce and I just uncovered a political espionage, I know it's your favorite," he said. Barbara groaned. " How dare you try to tease me with that?" she grunted and sat up on the bed. " Good morning," Dick said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Barbara smiled. " Good morning baby," they shared a quick kiss. " Okay, I'll go make some coffee for you while you get ready, sounds alright?" Dick asked. Barbara nodded. " Give me five minutes and I'll be downstairs," she said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick entered the kitchen and went directly to the coffee machine. Since Gotham was on the other side of the continent from where he normally lived with the Team, the concept of time was really mixed for him. Normally he should be asleep now since it was around 3 AM where he lived. He was used to not getting sleep though and thank god for coffee._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________As he was waiting for the coffee to be done, he was leaning on the counter, his eyes closed, trying to relax his mind. " So, you're here?" Damian asked as he walked in. Dick turned to him and faintly smiled. " Good morning to you too," he replied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Damian looked like he had a classic of his sarcastic replies ready but he stopped himself. " Good morning," he said instead. Dick was surprised by that. " You're making coffee?" he asked. Dick nodded. " Cool, can you pour one for me as well?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick furrowed his brows. " Aren't you a little young to be drinking coffee?" he asked. Damian shrugged. " As if you weren't drinking my age," he shot. Dick chuckled. " Fine, you got me," he replied. Damian smirked. " Wouldn't be the first time Grayson,"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The machine's alarm went off, alerting them the coffee was ready. Dick took out three cups and started pouring them in. " By the way, I'm sorry. For how I have treated you, how I've been treating you since I came here," Damian said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick was lucky his back was turned against Damian because he was surprised as hell. Yesterday the guy was fighting with him, insulting him, now he was being nice. " Yeah," Dick mumbled as he turned around and handed him a cup. " I figured it's the normal kind of behavior, to treat someone you hate," he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Damian furrowed his brows. " I don't hate you," he quickly said. Dick grabbed his own cup and took a sip. " You don't? You sure act like it kid," he said. Damian sighed. " As I said, I don't hate you. I never did. Do you annoy and get on my nerve sometimes? Sure. I'm sure it's mutual," he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Dick nodded. He was right. Damian got on his nerves and annoyed him pretty often too. " I, well, uhm, I," Damian stuttered and Dick patiently listened to him. He could see Damian was trying and him being this nice was a big development already, he didn't want to push it any further._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" I envy you," he finally said. This was a day full of surprises. Dick choked on his coffee. " Wait, what? Really?" he asked. Damian rolled his eyes. " Obviously," he said. " You've been here longer than I was. You get along with everyone," he started. " And you got to know her, spend time with her," he said in a low tone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" Oh," Dick mumbled, finally understanding where he was getting at. " You're this amazing role model everyone expects me to follow so naturally, I had to be better than you," Damian continued. Dick smiled. Sometimes, when Damian wasn't being a smart ass brat, he could see her in him. It reminded him of her, when she went all BAMF Firegirl on Fire when she first got retired because of the pregnancy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________" So, you accept that I'm pretty good at what I do and made it into a competition to beat me?" Dick mused. Damian groaned. " Obviously, meathead. Aren't you listening to me properly?" Damian exclaimed but once he glared at Dick and saw his amused face, he started smiling too._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________And for a moment there both of them felt something new. Like a bond forming between them. Something family-wise, something brotherly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Alfred coughed. " Master Wayne excepts everyone downstairs now," he said. Dick grabbed the other coffee mug. " Is Barb down there?" he asked. Alfred nodded. Damian sighed. " Have fun," he mumbled. Alfred coughed again. " He means _everyone _," he repeated himself.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Damian grinned like the kid he was. Dick smiled, maybe Bruce was taking his advice too. " Well, what are you waiting for standing there like idiots? Go!" Alfred sighed. The boys shared a smile and got their move on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Dick handed Barbara her coffee when they went down. " You're amazing," Barbara commented as she smiled and grabbed the coffee from his hands. If Dick liked coffee, Barb was addicted to it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________" Okay, I was woken up with a promise of espionage," Barbara said. Bruce nodded and started to explain what he and Dick talked about a few minutes ago to Alfred, Damian, and Barbara. Tim was away on a mission with Kathy._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bruce went over on the Team's mission, the assassin, the UN Voting, and meta-human trafficking. " We have no idea who the assassin is, the only information we have is that he appeared six years ago," Dick said and opened the picture._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________" Uh, first of all, that's a she," Damian said and everyone turned to him. His arms were crossed and he was wearing his smug face. " Her name is Zero. She's been with moth-- I mean Talia ever since I can remember. Like her right hand. I might have sparred with her once or twice," he explained._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bruce and Dick shared a look. " Who is she?" Bruce asked. Damian shrugged. " I don't know, I never saw her face. She wears her mask all the time. I think she has a scar underneath and that's why she doesn't take it. At least, that's what I heard. There were rumors. Anyway, I only heard her speak a few times, and that was to Talia. She keeps to herself," he answered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________" What else do you know about her?" Dick asked. " She was the star pupil of Lady Shiva. She taught her well. Zero never failed a mission," Damian replied. " Which means, if they send someone to convince or take out the Bialyan diplomat, it's likely that it's going to be her," Barbara said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bruce nodded. " What's so important about this Bialyan diplomat?" Damian asked. " What if he doesn't vote? There are over a hundred and ninety members, surely most of them will vote humanely," he continued._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________" Because Bialya is one of the locations where the metahuman trafficking takes place the most. If they agree most countries are going to follow their path. If they stay silent so will the others. It's politics," Dick answered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________" Alright," Bruce stood up from his chair. " Dick you and the Team are to protect the diplomat until the meeting. No harm comes to him. I'll talk to Diana and Arthur to get some insight about the numbers. Barbara, you look into this Zero, try to dig anything on her. Damian, you go to school," he said. Damian groaned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Dick raised his hand. " Actually," he started and walked toward Damian. " I was thinking maybe he could tag along with us. See how we operate. He could certainly be useful, he knows her," he offered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Bruce looked between his sons suspiciously. " Damian, would that be something you'd like?" he finally asked. Damian looked between Dick and Bruce. He shrugged. " Sure, I'd like that," he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	38. Thirty Eight

After the meeting, everyone got to work except for Dick and Damian. They'd go back to the Team headquarters but it was still nighttime there and they were sleeping. They trained for a while and then grabbed breakfast.

Dick admitted to himself that when Damian wasn't being a dick, no pun intended, he was actually quite fun to hang out with. He was obviously more mature than kids his age so they got along.

When it was finally around 9 around where the Team where they Zeta tubed there. Once they got there most of them were awake. Artemis was trying to cook breakfast for everyone while Wally was keep eating the stuff she cooked. Kaldur was trying to help but Garfield was under his feet trying to grab something to eat.

The rest were watching them and laughing. " Hey, team!" Dick said loudly. Damian was standing next to him, wearing his usual smug and black sunglasses- like Dick used to, and he was observing the people before them. " Oh hey! Who's this?" M'gann asked. She obviously knew but was playing nice.

" I'm Robin," Damian replied. " What? Big B didn't give him the identity permission yet?" Wally asked as he stuffed a waffle to his mouth. " Nah, he's edgy like that," Dick replied, patting Damian. " Well, does this Robin have an actual name?" Rachel asked and hopped off the counter.

Damian looked at her. " Damian," he replied. " Nice to meet you, I'm Rachel," she replied. Soon everyone started to introduce themselves. Cassie walked up to Dick. " Hey, do you know where Tim is? He's not answering my texts, is he still away?" she asked.

" Oh yeah, he's still away. I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as he can," Dick replied. Cassie frowned. " Oh, okay," she mumbled and walked back to the table. With the distraction that came from Dick and Damian's arrival, Artemis and Kaldur actually managed to finish cooking.

As everyone was sitting at the table Wally walked toward Dick. He was holding a cereal box and eating from it. " So this is him?" Wally asked in a low tone. Dick nodded. " Yup, in the flesh," he replied. " Doesn't seem so bad," Wally mumbled. Dick shrugged. " Yeah,"

Then they went an joined everyone. As they were eating Dick told the Team about what they found and explained the plan. All the kids were happy because it meant they wouldn't go to school today. " Okay, I want Team Beta to be stationed inside and outside of the diplomat's room. You'll be the close guard. The rest of us will be on a nearby location, watching the place. If they come, we'll be the first thing they face," he said.

" Except, I need someone to switch with M'gann this time. This Zero, she's no joke and if it goes south I need her to go into her mind and make her sleep," Dick said. M'gann had amazing telepathic abilities, J'onn - the Martian Manhunter - even admitted that she was far more powerful than him. She could get into someone's mind and make them go to sleep. She could probably do worse but she chose not to.

" I'll swap places," Kaldur offered. " Alright, great," Connor said. " Can we go on with eating? I'm starving," he said. " Wait, what about me?" Damian asked. " You're sticking with me kid," Dick replied.

Damian crossed his arms. " Don't call me a kid," he pouted. " But you're the youngest here," Dick playfully said. " No, I'm not," he argued. Damien looked at to the table. " Don't look at me dude, I'm fourteen," Garfield said and shrugged.

" I'm thirteen," Rachel said. Damian groaned. He was twelve. He didn't feel twelve but he was. Some people chuckled. " Well, if it helps, I'm around ten," Connor said and smiled at Damian. " Yeah but you don't look like it," he responded back.

Dick chuckled. " Admit it, you're the kid," he said. It felt nostalgic and kind of good to be the one calling someone 'kid' and not being called a kid. " I'm 27 and I still go by Kid Flash," Wally murmured. " Yeah, maybe it's time for a name update sweetie," Artemis said and squeezed Wally's cheek.

After breakfast everyone scattered around the compound. They'd go to the protection detail in a few hours. All of the diplomats were on a meeting right now so the diplomat should be safe as about now.

Jaime and Garfield asked Damian to come play pinball with them. Damian agreed. Cassie and Rachel went away to watch the new episode of their favorite TV show. All the couples retreated to their rooms.

Dick went to the computer room to see if they had footage of this Zero. Maybe if he could examine her fighting technique beforehand, it'd be helpful to take her down when he next saw her.

It was strange because they usually had files and information on everyone who was deadly and a (potential) threat. It was intriguing that neither the Leauge nor Bruce's database had nothing on her.

" Hey," Kaldur said as she walked in. " Hey," Dick greeted. Kaldur sat at the chair next to him. " So this might be a bit personal, but, is that who I think he is?" he asked. Dick leaned on his chair and sighed. " Yeah," he replied.

Kaldur nodded. " Wow," he said. Wally, Kaldur and Dick were friends back when the Team wasn't even founded. They were the founding members. And although the Team had an amazing dynamic now, the bond the three of them shared went back a long time. Except for Wally, Kaldur was Dick's oldest friend in the group.

And he was there. That day. When she took down Fire. They talked about it later on and Dick bragged about her and how great she was. Both Wally and Kaldur said they'd like to train with her in the future, she was good. Sadly, it didn't happen.

" Has it really been that long?" Kaldur asked but it was more like a thought. Dick nodded. " I know right? When he was still in the womb, we were children. The Team didn't even exist. Damn, " he replied. " Damn, indeed," Kaldur mumbled. Ever since he started to hang out with them he got used to using the surface world's slang.

Kaldur smiled. " You know, after that day, I asked King Arthur about her," he said. " Oh, yeah?" Dick asked. He nodded. " Yeah, I was impressed, we all were, you know. Anyway, my King wasn't surprised I asked about her when he had learned what happened. He told me about how he met her. That she was like a spitfire," Kaldur said.

Dick chuckled. " That she was," he replied. " I mean barging into a Leauge meeting and holding everyone there accountable for their actions? Yelling at them, I couldn't picture doing something like that in a hundred years," he said. They laughed. " She was never the one to back down from a fight. You should have seen her during her finals week during her senior year. I have never seen Bruce that scared in his life. We were actually concerned about walking inside the house and making a sound to distract her," he said, the memories rushing to him. They were fond memories.

" Yeah, I wouldn't want her to be pissed at me," Kaldur said. Dick nodded. " Trust me, you or no one would probably make it alive if she was really pissed," he said with a faint smile. " Anyway, I came here to tell you something, I wanted you to hear it from me first. I didn't want to blindside you," Kaldur said, his posture and tone getting more serious.

Dick sat up straight as well. " As you know King Arthur and Queen Mera had their child a little while ago," he said and Dick nodded. He was aware. Bruce had sent a baby gift. " And since with the baby's arrival, the King's responsibilities have increased. He wants me to take over as Aquaman in the surface while he can focus on his family and Atlantean affairs,"

" Oh," Dick mumbled. " Well, that's great for you Kaldur, I'm happy for you," Dick tried to smile. They all knew one day they'd outgrow the Team but he just didn't expect it to be now. Kaldur smiled back. " Thanks. The King will make the announcement in a few days, this might very well be my last mission with you guys," he said. They shook hands. " Then let's make it a great one," Dick smirked. 

A couple of hours later everyone was in their positions. Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Raven, and Beast Boy were inside the hotel. Kaldur, Jaime and Garfield were inside the room with the diplomat while the others were at the door and the halls.

Miss Martian, Artemis, Kid Flash, Superboy, Robin and Nightwing were on the roof of another building that overlooked the hotel room. They were scattered around the roof. Damian groaned after a while. " So is this how you do things? Sit on your asses and wait?" he asked.

Artemis chuckled. " At the start kid," she replied. " Well, it's boring," Damian replied. " It's a protection detail, it's supposed to be like that," M'gann said sweetly. They went back to silence.

Bruce called Dick to inform him about what he talked with Diana and Arthur. It was like they thought so. Of course, Themyscira and Atlantis would vote to legalize the metahumans but there were so many countries who weren't sure. If a country like Bialya who had too much trouble with them was to vote to legalize too, they'd be sure to follow.

Legalizing meta-humans didn't only guarantee the Leauge's jurisdiction. It was much more than that. It was a humanity issue. If they were illegalized that would mean that any meta-human would be revoked from their citizenship, wouldn't be granted another one. And without any citizenship, bad people like Luthor and others could easily get their hands on them.

No country would intervene because meta's would be ruled as non-people, since they were not citizens. No one would claim them, no one would fight for them. Just like the example from twelve years ago. The government had kidnapped its own people and if the metas were illegal, they'd keep doing it too. Hell, Luthor would do a lot more with his new position at the UN as the general secretary. It would cause so many deaths and torture. It would ruin so many lives worldwide. With every passing day, more and more metahumans activated their genes.

They couldn't let that happen so the voting that would take place the next day was important. This Bialyan diplomat as well. " I thought Bialya was a monarchy. Some crazy lady named Queen Bee. Wasn't she in on it too?" Damian asked once Dick was done talking with Bruce.

" Yeah, it was. It still is. But Queen Bee is in jail. We took care of her years ago. Bialya has changed a lot since then, they're still grateful to us for overthrowing that dictator. Of course in the official papers we had no involvement," Dick replied. " Hmm," Damian said. " So you're sure this guy will vote for the legalization?" he asked.

Dick shrugged. " Why not?" he asked. Damian sighed. " Grayson, cmon. I know you're smarter than that. Our whole plan is not based on some guy, is it? What if he is compromised?" Damian asked.

Damien was raised as a perfect soldier. He was taught to analyze situations. Strategize. Dick went through a similar training but his was obviously to be Robin, not to take over a years-old assassin's Leauge.

" Because he isn't," Dick replied. Damian groaned. " Great," he mumbled. " That's stupid, I'm telling you now, he might sell you tomorrow, get ready," he pouted and walked away from him. Dick didn't answer. " Guess him being nice only lasts for a couple of hours,"

As the sun started to set Dick felt a little strange. Like something would go down. He turned to M'gann. " The link please?" he asked. She nodded, her eyes went green, her body and air floated for a second.

_' Physic link up' _she said. Dick saw Damian being startled by it at the corner of his eye. _' What the hell?' _he asked. _' It's something M'gann does, a physic link so we can communicate and plan without others hearing us.' _Connor replied. Damian smirked. _' Now, this is getting interesting' _________

________The sun went down. _' Beta, is everything alright?' _Dick asked through the link. _' Yup', _Garfield replied. _' This dude is so boring, mio dio, he hasn't shut up about the milkshakes he tasted here' _Jaime said. _' It's better than standing at an empty hall for hours' _Cassie said. _' Patience guys, it's better than the alternative' _Kaldur replied.___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Just as if that was cue another gas bomb exploded on the roof. _' You had to open your mouth, I'm just glad it's not Wally this time' _Artemis said and took out her bow and arrow. _'Babe, you're hurting me, I've passed that title down to Jaime a long time ago' _Wally answered. _' We've got movement everyone, get ready' _Dick announced. _' Finally' _Damian sighed._________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________With that everyone got to their positions. The gas cleared out soon enough and about twenty Leauge of Shadows assassin's appeared. _' Twenty for just one guy?' _Connor asked as he punched someone. _' They knew we'd be here,' _Dick replied._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________________The fight went about several moments. _' Holy shit! This guy is throwing fireballs!' _Wally exclaimed. As soon as Dick got finished with the guy he was fighting he turned toward Wally. It was Zero. He was speeding in the roof while Zero was throwing fireballs at his feet. _' I've got her, _' Damian said and Dick saw him running toward her._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________________________________' M'Gann!' _Connor exclaimed. She was just hit with one of the fireballs Zero sent toward Wally. Connor rushed to his side. As Dick started to move another assassin stepped in his way. He started throwing his sword around, trying to hurt Dick. Using his signature escrima sticks, Dick quickly disarmed him and knocked him out. After that, he rushed to M'gann and Connor's side.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________" Are you alright?" he asked out loud. M'gann nodded. " I'll be," she shortly replied. He turned to Connor. " Guard her, we'll take care of the rest," he said and got back up. He quickly analyzed the situation. Artemis had taken a corner and she was shooting arrows to either distract or disarm the assassins. Wally was running between them, either taking their swords or distracting them for others to finish the job._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________Damian was taking on Zero. Her sole focus was now on him and she wasn't dealing with Wally anymore. Dick analyzed her. She was like a killing machine, her hits were direct and subtle. She wasn't thinking, she was going for it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________Dick had seen Damian fight so many times. He fought like that too when they first met. As time passed, as Bruce taught him, his fighting had changed. He was no longer fighting like the machine he was growing up to be. Except for now. With Zero, Dick could see he had reverted back to his old style._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________He couldn't let that happen. Damian had shown significant progress. _' Damian, switch places with me,' _he said through the link. Just then Damian's sword clashed with Zero's. _' No, I can take her!' _Damian replied._____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________________________________________' DAMIAN!' _Dick exclaimed. It was a tone he saw from Bruce, a tone he used to make someone follow his orders. A tone Damian was familiar with as well. _' Ugh, fine!' _Damian groaned. As he stepped away Dick swooped into his place.____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________" Hi, do you mind switching dance partners?" he asked playfully to her. She didn't respond and went for the kill. They sparred for a while and Dick realized something. There was a subtle change to her fighting type. With Damian, she stroke harsh and for the kill. With him, it was different._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________Dick couldn't explain it, she was still trying to harm him, but it wasn't for the kill. Her hits were lighter, easier to avoid. Suddenly, Dick felt like they had fought before. Both of them could anticipate the other's move. Which was strange, because this was the first time they were fighting._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________" What? No fire for me? I'll be offended," Dick taunted as he pushed her backward. He was trying to see something. This was weird. Zero chuckled. " You have not seen anything, boy," she replied. Her tone was cold. But it was a voice Dick definitely heard before._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________She took a step back and sent flames to his way. Dick jumped and barely got out of the flames' way. But even then, that flame was easy to avoid. It went directly to where he was previously standing. She could have easily hit her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________As she started to send flames and fireballs to hit her, he jumped and avoided them. It was like a dance between them. Dick quickly checked on the others. Everyone seemed fine. He focused back on his fight. He saw an opening between her attacks and took it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________He ran to her and disarmed her. He shooed her weapon away. Now, they were fighting with their bodies. And again, this felt oddly familiar. There was a certain assassin touch to her fighting style but that was not all of it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________Dick got her in a headlock. " Stand down," he said. Zero didn't reply, instead, she tripped his leg while simultaneously grabbing his shoulder and threw his body over hers. As Dick fell to the ground he came to a sudden realization. That was a move he did. Often. And taught. He taught to the kids in the Team, Barbara, Jason, Tim, Damian and... Skylar._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________He quickly got up and threw a kick toward Zero. Somehow his blood was fired up. He was filled with energy. He felt his feet hit something solid, not a body part, then heard the noise of something falling to the ground._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________He took out his escrima sticks, Zero would have grabbed her weapon while Dick was on the ground, and prepared to take action. He got up on his feet as he took out his weapons and looked up to Zero._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________As soon as his eyes landed on Zero, now without her mask because his kick made it fall off, that was the sound the heard, Dick froze. Dick Grayson froze for the first time in battle. He quickly closed and opened his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming or hallucinating, that this was real._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________Nope, it was real._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________" M'gann! Knock her out, NOW!" Dick yelled frantically. Zero's eyes went green, just as whenever M'gann did this, and her body fell to the ground. Dick took a deep breath, his head was dizzy and he was having trouble breathing. He looked around, the rest of the team had taken care of the others._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________________________________He fell to his knees, next to Zero's body. This was official, Dick was freaking out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	39. Thirty Nine

Dick, Damian, M'gann, Connor, Artemis, and Wally returned to the compound with the unconscious body of Zero. They left the others on the hotel in case someone else decided to attack the diplomat. They were all capable of protecting the diplomat on their own and if things got too out of hand they could always Zeta Tube to the nearest location.

The matter at hand was more serious. No one understood why they brought Zero, normally they'd turn her over to the authorities. Also, Dick was seriously freaking out, no one understood what was happening.

They put Zero in the infirmary room, her hands and legs were cuffed, so if she woke up she wouldn't be able to run away. The others were in the living room. Damian was leaned against the wall. Wally and Artemis were at their feet, watching Dick walk back and forth while looking like a maniac. M'gann was sitting at the couch, since Martians were badly effected by fire, she was still recovering. Connor was sitting by her side.

" Does he always get like this?" Damian asked. He wasn't trying to be sarcastic or rude, well- maybe not entirely, but he was genuinely curious. He had never seen Dick like this. He was always so, collected. The only time he lost his cool was the other day and he had a big finger in him losing it.

Wally walked to Dick and tried to stop him. He didn't stop, kept walking and mumbling things to himself. " Dick!" Wally finally shouted. Dick's head went up. He seemed to get out of a trance. " What?" he snapped. " Dude, what's going on?" Wally asked.

Dick took a deep breath. It was like he was trying to put some pieces together. He looked so vulnerable. His eyes were red. Dick hugged Wally. Wally was just as surprised. He had never seen his best friend like that. If someone were to have a meltdown, Dick would be the last person he'd name.

Suddenly Dick jerked away. " I need to go in there," he muttered and quickly went there. Wally looked at his girlfriend. " What. Just. Happened?" Artemis said. " I don't know babe, I don't know," Wally sighed and walked toward her.

" No, seriously. He's been acting weird for a while now. Something is going on," Connor said and got up. " He's been having a rough couple of days. You know," Wally defended. " But he seemed fine today. He changed once the mask came off, he froze," M'gann said from the couch.

Once Zero was knocked unconscious Dick put the mask back on her face. But when he fell to his knees Wally sped to his side to see if he was injured. And for a split second, he saw her face. Wally took a deep breath.

" Yeah," he mumbled. " The thing is, he never gets like this. We all know this. The only time is when ..." Then, suddenly, everything made sense. He put the pieces together. " FUCK!" Wally gasped loudly, startling everyone. " What?" Damian asked, he was annoyed. " I need to go," Wally mumbled and quickly sped away. Damian sighed. " Great, we lost him too," he mumbled.

" That's it, I'm calling Barbara. She'll deal with him," Artemis said and took out her phone. 

Wally walked into the infirmary room. Dick was standing over the bed, looking at her. Her mask was still on. " Dick," Wally let out and went to his side. He grabbed his shoulder and made him turn to face him. " It's her, isn't it?" he asked.

Dick looked at him. He looked sad, in shock, despair. He looked broken. " How?" Dick whispered. " How can it be?" his voice croaked. " I don't know," Wally whispered. He took a deep breath. " One way to know for sure," he said and the two friends shared a look.

Dick faintly nodded his head, understanding what his friend was hinting at and giving permission. Wally slowly took off her mask. They both took a deep breath. Dick looked like he was going to cry.

It was Skylar. Zero was Skylar. Firegirl.

Everyone from the 'old' Team knew what she looked like. Wally first met her at his aunt's wedding. And they had a commemoratory hall in the watchtower for the allies they had lost in battle. Her hologram was there too, of course, it was her hero disguise, but since Wally had met her before, he knew her face. What she looked like. That was her.

" What are we going to do?" Wally asked. Dick shook his head. " I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I can't think, my brain's stopped. Wally, tell me the truth, my brain isn't playing games with me, is it? Wally, please," Dick rambled. His tone turned into a whisper toward the end.

Wally sighed. "No, it's not playing games, I see it too," he replied. Dick ran his hands through his face. " What will we do? Damian is out there and Bruce. Oh, god. Bruce. What do I tell him?" Dick rambled again.

Wally grabbed him and shook his body. " Dick, Dick! I need you to snap out of this and come to your senses. Okay? We need to focus, buddy. Cmon," he said. Dick looked at him after a while. He closed and opened his eyes a few times.

" Okay, okay. You're right, give me a second to think," he murmured. Wally nodded and took a step back, giving his friend a moment to think. " M'gann, we need M'gann," Dick said and rushed to the door. 

" What do you think those doofuses are talking about in there?" Damian said, glaring at the infirmary's direction. " No idea," Artemis replied. " Any news on Barbara?" M'gann asked. " Yeah, she said she'll be here as soon as she can," Artemis said.

Then they heard the door opening. " M'gann!" Dick shouted. She looked at the others and then got up. As they watched her walk away Artemis sat next to Connor. " Seriously, are you getting any of this?" she asked. Connor shook his head.

Damian turned toward the infirmary again. He was now beyond annoyed, he was angry. Something was going on, that was for sure, and it must have been big for Grayson to react in such a way. And he was going to find out what. 

" You're not serious, are you?" M'gann asked. Both Wally and Dick shook their heads. " Just check her, please. I need to know," Dick begged. M'gann looked between him and Zero. She couldn't comprehend how this assassin could be Firegirl.

She had too many questions. How was she alive? How did no one else know? Why was she attacking them, wasn't she on their side? But it seemed like neither Dick nor Wally had any answers. She sighed. " Okay, I'll see what I can do," she said and walked to the bed. She sat on the edge of it and put her hands on her head. Her eyes turned green and she dived into her head.

Dick was watching the whole thing anxiously. His heart was beating too fast. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't. After a minute or so M'gann jerked away with a gasp. " So?" Dick asked eagerly.

M'gann turned to her. " Uhm, there's a mental barrier. It has traces of Psimon," she mumbled. Dick groaned. Great. Psimon was in on it too, the whole supervillain club. He was a human with telekinesis and telepathy abilities. He could control minds. " Take it out," Dick said sternly. That must've been it, they were controlling her.

Skylar was too powerful. Even without being a metahuman, she was trained by Batman. She knew how to fight. Plus, she had powers. Fire. There were so many scenarios in which that would be very useful. That explained everything. Just like covering up Damian's death, Ra's and Talia covered up her death too. They wiped her memory and used her.

She sighed. " Dick, I saw what was behind the barrier. You're not going to like it," she said. Dick furrowed his brows. " It's better than her being dead, isn't it?" he exclaimed. M'gann bit her lip. " She died, Dick. She died," M'gann said.

Dick's head snapped toward her. " And?" he asked roughly. Okay, maybe his theory was a bit wrong. So her death wasn't covered up, but she was obviously alive now. " Dick, listen to me carefully. She died. And now she's alive. And we know she was with Ra's Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul when she did. Can you make the connection yet?"

He gasped. The Lazarus Pit. It granted life to the lifeless body put into it. That was how Ra's managed to survive for so long. But it had side effects, very bad. Many of the people who went in came back delusional. The Pit drove them crazy. Only a few people were able to surpass the repercussions.

" So, his shield is keeping it all in?" Dick asked. " Somewhat. It wasn't put there immediately. I can say that much. Most of what the shield is doing is to surpass her memories, before she was put into the Pit," she explained.

Dick tilted his head. " Okay, this means she was able to fight it off. M'gann, please. Take off the barrier, I need to know," he said. " I don't know. It could be dangerous. If I do it, all of her memories, it will all come back and mix in with the ones after the barrier. It will be hard, she will be very confused. It could potentially drive her insane," M'gann said.

He chewed on his bottom lip. " Is that a guarantee?" he asked. She shook her head. " Nope, just a possibility," she replied. Dick looked between her and M'gann. " Then it's a risk I'm willing to take. Please. Please," he was begging. M'gaan sighed. " Fine," she said and sat back positioning her hands on her head again.

Wally hugged Dick from behind, wanting to show support for his friend as M'gann's eyes went green once again. They silently waited as she did her thing. Something clicked inside Dick. This was it. They were getting her back. He could make up for his horrendous mistake. Their family would be complete.

M'gann's eyes went back to her original color as Skylar gasped awake. M'gann got up from the bed as Skylar fought to break free. She had started crying and screaming in pain, loudly too. " Relax, we're not going to hurt you," M'gann said.

Skylar's eyes went to her. She examined her quickly. " You... You're green. You're a Martian?" she asked. Dick closed his eyes. That was her voice. It was her. " Yes. You might know of my uncle. J'onn. Relax, I am going to uncuff you now. Okay?" M'gann softly said. Skylar nodded.

Skylar sat up in the bed and covered her face with her hands as soon as she was free. M'gann turned around and looked at Wally. " Let's give them some privacy," she mumbled. Wally nodded, he slowly patted Dick's shoulder and then they left.

Dick was alone in the room with Skylar. He was excited and anxious. He didn't know what to say. He coughed awkwardly. Skylar's head shot up. It was like she thought she was alone in the room. Dick slowly took off his mask and looked up, as soon as their eyes locked, Skylar gasped. Her eyes narrowed down as she looked him up and down.

" Dick?" she croaked. He broke out a smile and nodded. " Hey SJ," he said. " Oh my god," Skylar whispered, more tears starting to appear on her face. Dick hugged her and they sat on the bed, hugging each other tightly. They were both crying.

When they broke apart Skylar held Dick's face in her hands. And she smiled. " Look at you," she whispered. " You're all grown up," she continued. He nodded. " Yeah, I am," he replied. " We've got so much to talk about, _grandma, _" Dick said.__

__They both chuckled at the nickname. " Oh my god, yes," she said. " I just need a minute, to get my head together," Skylar said. Dick nodded. " Of course," he replied. He was so happy. Skylar was alive._ _

__" That's a new suit," Skylar mumbled after a minute. He chuckled. " Yeah, you like it?" he asked. She nodded. It was black but had blue stripes on the shoulders and a bluebird on the chest. " It was inspired by you. I wanted to honor your memory. You were a Ravenclaw, hence the bird and the blue," he softly said. That made Skylar tear up even more once again. " I, of course, have it in red too, because, you know me," he said, " Gryffindor," they both said at the same time and chuckled. Skylar grabbed Dick's hand and squeezed it. " I'm honored," she said._ _

__" Hey sweetie, Artemis called me--" Barbara walked into the room and gasped upon seeing Skylar. " Skylar?" she exclaimed. " Barbara?" Skylar asked in shock. Dick got up and grabbed Barbara's hand. " It's her, it's really her Babs," he said._ _

__Barbara was shocked, she looked between Dick and Skylar. She remembered Skylar vividly. She used to pick her and Dick up from school and drive them to movies or the mall. She'd get her the best presents._ _

__" I can't believe this," Barbara said. " Neither can I," Dick replied. They were holding hands and as soon as Skylar realized she gasped. " Don't tell me, you crazy guys finally made it!" she exclaimed. Barbara blushed meanwhile Dick nodded._ _

__She was shipping them from day one! Skylar got up and hugged both of them. Dick was now taller than her but she and Barbara seemed to be of the same height." You're right, we do have so much to talk about," Skylar mused. All of them smiled._ _

__Nobody realized that Barbara left the door open. Nobody realized there was a shadow behind the door. Nobody realized Damian was not in the living room anymore._ _

__Damian was furious. He had heard the name correctly. Skylar. Her mother's name was Skylar. That explained everything. Why Dick freaked out. His mother was alive and they were hiding it from him. Bruce, he must've been under this. He angrily made his way over to the Wayne Manor to give his father a very angry piece of his mind._ _

__Damian Zeta Tubed into the Batcave. Much to his dismay, his father was there, sitting at his stupid chair before his stupid computer. " How dare you?" he roared. Bruce turned his chair around. He looked slightly surprised but was wearing his usual face. That fueled Damian even more._ _

__" How dare you? You keep lying to me! You told me she was dead! DEAD! This is another of your games, right? To test me! To see if I'm honorable enough, up to your standards before I meet her. You expect me to trust you when you don't even tell me half of the truth? You just give me a bullshit of a speech about her! How can you keep this from me? How can you do all of this and still call yourself my father?"_ _

__His words angered Bruce. He didn't know what was going on. But he didn't appreciate Damian's words. He had done nothing wrong, he had been trying. He had been trying ever since he showed up and he had been trying extra hard since he read her letter. He was giving him space, keeping him in the loop. He was trying his goddamn best. What more he could do at the moment?_ _

__" Damian--" he started but he interrupted him. " Don't Damian me! Tell me, when were you going to tell me? Huh? When would I be seen worthy of it? Or were you going to keep me in the dark forever? When will you start trusting me?" he continued yelling._ _

__Bruce shot up from his chair. " Damian, what on earth are you talking about?" he exclaimed. Damian furrowed his brows. " Great, you're playing dumb now," he snickered. Bruce sighed. " What do you think I'm keeping from you exactly? I have tried to be nothing but an open book to you. I told you who's dead?" he asked, his stern tone lingering throughout._ _

__Damian sighed. " My mother!" he cried. " My mother is alive and you didn't even tell me! How do you expect me to trust you after you tell me she's dead, give me a whole speech about it meanwhile I'm sure you knew she had been alive all this time! You probably forged the letter too, didn't you? How long did you think you could keep this from me?"_ _

__Bruce felt like he just had a bullet to his head. " Your mother?" he muttered in shock. " Stop acting clueless. Grayson and her are having their reunion right now with his girlfriend. So, when were you going to tell me?"_ _

__Bruce kneeled next to Damian. " Are you telling the truth? Is she really alive?" he asked. Damian frowned. " What have I been saying for the last minute? Aren't you listening to me? Why are you acting like you have no idea what's going on? Wait, where are you going?"_ _

__As he was talking Bruce got up and walked to the Zeta Tube leaving Damian behind. He knew he shouldn't have. He knew he had to stay behind and sort this out with his son. But, but what if it was true? What is she was alive? That outweighed everything right now._ _

__He stepped on the Team's compound. He spotted M'gann first. The other members of the team were around the room. " Is it true?" he asked. " How did you know?" M'gann asked back. " IS. IT. TRUE?" Bruce exclaimed. He was still in his suit, and he used his Batman tone. M'gann didn't answer out loud, just nodded and pointed to the infirmary room._ _

__Bruce was quick on his feet. He made his way over to that room quickly. Funnily enough, it was a small distance. Twenty seconds maximum. But it felt like years as his body went across the room and the door. His heart was beating like it was going to fly out of his chest._ _

__He stopped in front of the door. It wasn't closed, he could hear the noises coming from inside. Then he heard it. Her voice. Her chuckle. Her. His heart skipped a beat. It felt like a lightning struck his brain._ _

__He grabbed the door and pushed it open, stepping inside. He was scared to look. What if it was a game his brain was playing him? What if he looked and didn't see her? What if it was all an illusion? What if this was a beautiful dream?_ _

__He took a deep breath and looked up. It felt so long for him to gather the courage but it was actually a matter of seconds. And as soon as he did, his eyes locked with the prettiest shade of green set of eyes he had ever looked in. He breathed out in relief. It was her._ _

__His Skylar._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly love Dick so much, and yeah, maybe you guys wanted her to have a reunion with Bruce first, but I liked it happening this way :)


	40. Forty

Skylar wanted to cry.

Sure she had been crying since she woke up, but this was different. She wanted to cry out of happiness this time. Bruce. Oh, Bruce. Her Bruce was standing at the doorway. It had been so long, so damn long. Yeah, there had been the whole brain control thing, but it was way before than that.

Pieces were coming back to Skylar. Her brain was processing all of the last twelve years slowly. And her life before. For now, she had only remembered that she had waited for him in that room in Infinity Island, for months. And he was here. Oh, god, he was here.

All she vividly remembered at the moment was how much she wanted to be by his side, in his arms for months. And he was here, steps away from her. He was here. They weren't miles away.

But, as the universe was, before any of them could speak up the alarms went off. They were loud too. " What's happening?" Skylar asked. Bruce and Dick rushed to the living room and the girls followed them.

When they got there Skylar spotted several other people standing in front of a big screen. " Slade..." she mumbled as she eyed the footage. She'd recognize him everywhere. " He was probably sent here to get you by Talia," Dick said, turning to Skylar.

Talia. That name both boiled something inside of her and somehow felt safe. A quick flashback of her appeared on her mind at the mention of that name. It was her and Talia walking in a hall where she was calling Bruce her beloved. And then another, both of them sitting somewhere, drinks in their hands and smiles. Like they were friends, having a good time.

She shook her head, trying to focus on the present. She'd need time to put everything together. " That ain't happening," Bruce sternly said. " We don't have much time, he's on the roof already," Barbara said.

" She's right, let's go," Dick said. Skylar smiled. He had grown up to the leader role. " Barbara, stay here with her," Bruce instructed. Skylar furrowed her brows. " I'm not staying," she said. " SJ, we just got you back," Dick tried to argue.

Skylar sighed. " You said he's here for me. I'm not hiding," she replied. Dick and Bruce shared a look. " Fine," Bruce muttered. Barbara had to stay back because she didn't have her costume with her and her identity would be exposed and worse, without the suit she didn't have proper protection.

They went up to the roof. Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, was standing on the roof with fifteen Leauge of Shadows assassins. " Oh, great," he mumbled as he spotted Skylar. " You've gone back," he said.

Skylar glared at him. " I remember what you did to me, Wilson. You will pay, there's nothing stopping me now," she said. Her tone had come out harsh. She didn't know where it came from but it was coldblooded. Like it didn't belong to her. 

An amusing face appeared on his face. " Bring it on," he smirked. Skylar looked at Bruce at the corner of her eye. It was an instinct. He nodded. He understood this was something she had to do on her own. It was a small movement that if you didn't know Bruce you wouldn't understand he even moved. But Skylar got it, even if she didn't remember everything and her memory was messed up, she knew enough. She and Bruce were a team. They always would be. 

Then, everyone moved. Everyone scattered around, leaving Skylar and Slade in the middle. She quickly analyzed the situation. He had weapons, she needed to get rid of them first. She was told by Dick and Barbara that she had been an assassin for the better part of the last decade so she thought she was better now than the last time she faced him. Plus, she had her powers now too.

There was also something holding her back the last time, but she couldn't remember at the moment. She needed to focus on this moment anyway, to take Slade down. " What, the cat got your tongue?" Slade taunted.

Skylar smirked. She had come up with a strategy already. She lunged forward. As she got closer to him, she jumped on her hands and flew into the air. She had jumped over him and had taken one of his swords doing it.

He had turned around and taken out his other sword. They started clashing their swords at each other and Skylar realized she was doing most of the movements by memory. She wasn't thinking of doing them, her muscles were taking care of it.

She had managed to drop his sword down. She started to attack him with his own sword but he was good at avoiding her hits. He kicked her arm, causing the sword to fall to the ground and as it was falling, he grabbed it. She saw him smirk.

And that smirk, it was familiar. She remembered seeing him stand over her and smirk just like that. And then darkness.

She became angry. Without giving him too much time to act, she grabbed his hands and used them to jump on him. She wrapped her legs around his neck and they fell to the ground.

He elbowed above her stomach, probably her diaphragm, causing her to lose her breath for a second. With that, he rolled out between her body and got up. He swung his sword to Skylar who was on her knees. She put her elbow against the sword.

She was still in her assassin suit. Minus her mask. The place from her wrist to her elbows was a harder material. She was able to stop the sword. He saw her being shocked at it. She smirked and grabbed the body of the sword with her other hand.

" You really messed with the wrong girl," she said and felt her power unleash. Her mind was a mess, and so were her powers to an extent. The place she held melted in seconds. Slade was really shocked now. He tried to jerk away but Skylar grabbed the piece of the sword he was holding. She melted that part too and as it became too hot for him to hold it, he dropped it into the ground.

She used his surprise to her advantage. She brought her hand up and punched his throat. As he struggled to breathe she swung a kick. And another punch. Another kick. She was like a machine, only hitting her target continuously. Again, it was her muscle memory. All she was thinking of was to beat him up but her body took care of it. It was like she was a machine. 

He had moved back until the edge of the roof. As she was about to kick for another time, he grabbed her leg and threw her off the roof as a last resort. 

As if that was going to stop her.

Warmth covered her body and she flew back over him. " You extra pissed me off now, Wilson," she said and sent a fire blast his way. He avoided it. So she sent another. He was avoiding most of them off and the ones that hit him certainly didn't seem to affect him that much.

" Seems you forgot fire doesn't really stop me," he taunted. His taunt. She hated that. She became enraged and went back to the ground hard. She crouched down and as she went back up, following her hands, a giant fire emerged from the ground completely sending Wilson to the air with the impact.

As he fell back she sent a more controlled but direct flame at him. It hit him right in the chest and he stumbled backward. She flew back up, locking down at her target. Nothing else mattered to her right then. She didn't even acknowledge how the others were doing. She had one purpose.

She took a deep breath and felt the warmth cover her entire body from the within. She was on fire. She sent one of the most powerful flames she ever produced toward him.

Once the smoke cleared out, he was on the ground. Pieces of his suit were burned off but he was alive.

She felt the flames around her body distinguish and for a moment she lost control. She fell to the ground. Someone caught her. Bruce. He caught her. Like he always did. She got back on her feet with the help from Bruce.

" Are you okay?" he asked her. His tone wasn't harsh, it was concerned. " Yeah," she mumbled, " Just lost my balance for a moment," she added. It was weird, this was the first thing they had said to each other in years. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be like this, maybe it had to be more intimate.

Skylar walked to Wilson. She kneeled next to him. " Are you sure about fire not stopping you? By my count, you're the one on the ground," she said. He groaned. " Just kill me and get over with it," he replied. She shook her head. "No, I won't kill you," she said and got back up. "Go, tell her. I'm coming for both of you," she hissed.

A helicopter neared the roof. Slade got up and jumped in it. The helicopter went away as Skylar turned around. Bruce was standing behind her. The rest of the people were behind them looking something in between of surprise and awe.

" DUDEEEE! She fuckin' killed it again!" A ginger-haired boy exclaimed. " Keep it in your pants," the blonde girl next to her said. Skylar smiled. " Hi, I don't think we've met," she said to the group. " Oh, yeah," Dick mumbled and started to name all of them.

She had met the Martian but learned her name was M'gann. The blonde archer was Artemis. When he came to the ginger-haired boy he sped to Skylar's side. " We actually met before. I'm Kid Flash, err, Wally. Barry's niece," he said. " Oh," she gasped. " I remember you," she replied. " Although you look older now,"

Wally chuckled. " Yeah, well," he mumbled. She turned to the last guy left. " You look awfully lot like Clark," she said. Dick chuckled nervously. " Yeah, this is Connor, that's a story for another time," he said. Skylar nodded. Surely, things have changed and there was a lot she didn't know. 

They went back down. As they were going Bruce slipped past Skylar. " Let's go back home to talk," he offered. Skylar nodded again. As soon as they entered the living room Bruce went to the keyboard and started typing. The computer scanned Skylar's body.

Bruce turned to Dick and Barbara. " I'm expecting you at the house first thing in the morning," he said. Both of them nodded. He then turned to Skylar and tilted his head at what seemed to be a giant circle planted onto the wall.

" What's that?" Skylar asked. " That's a Zeta Tube. Something we crafted from the mother box technology," Dick answered. " Kid, I didn't get any of that," she replied. Dick smiled. " You'll understand soon enough, just walk right in,"

Hesitantly, she did. A bright light covered her eyes and when she got out of it, she was standing at the Batcave. It looked different now. Another light flashed behind her and Bruce stepped out of it. He looked at Skylar eyeing the room curiously.

" This place, it changed," she mumbled. He nodded. " Yeah," he replied. They were standing there, not saying anything to each other. Skylar got the impression that neither of them knew what to say first.

Then she heard footsteps. " He ran back to his room, luckily he hasn't run away like before, although, as a result, I now have new duties to be relieved of--" Alfred gasped as he saw Skylar. He was holding a tray with a cup and a small teapot on it. He dropped it to the ground. " Miss Jones?" he asked.

Skylar smiled. " Hey, Alfred," she replied. Alfred turned to Bruce. " H-How?" he asked. Bruce shrugged. " I don't know," he replied. He truly didn't and at the moment, he didn't even care. What mattered was that she was here now.

" Could you give us some privacy?" Bruce asked him. He nodded. " Of course," he replied but first he hugged Skylar. " Good to have you back," he said to her. She smiled at him. She faintly remembered him, he was like a father figure, to all of them. " Thank you," she whispered.

As they watched Alfred leave they stood in silence again. " So, would you like to change?" Bruce asked awkwardly. She nodded. " Yeah, it'd be nice," she replied. They went up to his room. Skylar remembered the way. With each step she took, more and more came back to her. 

After they walked in Bruce headed to his wardrobe. He took out a shirt and short of his and handed them to Skylar. Their hands brushed but they didn't dare to look at each other. " I'll change in the bathroom," Skylar mumbled and went in.

She looked into herself in the mirror after she got changed and suddenly more memories came back. Herself breaking down in this bathroom in Bruce's arms after she was rescued from the metahuman facility and as Diana was on her way to pick her up to bring her to Themyscira to teach her how to use her powers. Her first time staying over at the Wayne Manor. The first shower Bruce and Skylar took in this bathroom - although they didn't have a proper shower until later on. She smiled to herself with the memory.

Now that the immediate danger had passed more and more memories were coming back to her, everything falling into place. Her head was pounding a bit because of it all, but she wanted to remember. Dick and Barbara had filled her in on the basics but she wanted to remember. Who she was. 

She was Skylar Marie Jones. She was born and raised in Central City. She had moved to Metropolis to study Business and International Relations. She had got caught up in Steven Mandragora's dirty work. Roy Hawkins was abusing her. She had met Bruce because Roy demanded her to sleep with him. Bruce had saved her from him and she moved to Gotham. She got kidnapped and her gene was activated. She became Firegirl. She and Bruce moved in together. Skylar graduated from Gotham University and started working at Wayne Enterprises.

She got out of the bathroom. Bruce had also changed and was wearing his usual home clothes. Skylar bit her lip nervously. " Is it okay for me to be here?" she asked. Bruce furrowed his brows. " What do you mean?" he asked her back.

Skylar shrugged. " I mean, is it _appropriate? _" she asked. It took Bruce a moment to get what she was hinting that. " Yes, it is," he replied. " Oh," she frowned. " I thought perhaps that'd make you happy," Bruce said.__

__" I don't know," she mumbled. " I thought maybe Alfred fixed you up, or you branched out on your own," she continued. He frowned. " No," he whispered. " There hasn't been anyone since you,"_ _

__It was true, after her, Bruce couldn't try. The reason why he never had anyone special in his life was that they could get hurt because of him. That his enemies would use her to get to him. And, that was what exactly happened. He allowed himself her, broke one rule, and it crushed his world beyond imagine._ _

__He never ever wanted to feel like that- despite the constant guilt he lived with for the past twelve years, and he never wanted to hurt someone else by loving them._ _

__How could anyone live with the guilt that they hurt someone they cared about by loving them? It was a burden no one could live off easily, it always hurt, the guilt was heavy and Bruce couldn't bear it again. Alfred finally understood that after Skylar._ _

__True, before her, he had always suggested that Bruce would settle down, that he allow himself some happiness. And he was so proud and happy when he finally did, with Skylar. But after how it all ended, he never persuaded it._ _

__She looked at him. It was the first time she gathered her courage. " I... I remember writing you a letter. Bruce, were you happy?" she asked. He took a deep breath. " Everything's a little fuzzy in here, I'm remembering piece by piece. Dick said there was a mental barrier in here. Bruce, I remember wanting you to be happy and not close yourself off. Have you been alone this entire time?"_ _

__" I had Alfred," he shrugged. Hearing that hurt Skylar. She still loved him so much, even if she was made to forget him and their life, she still loved him. She doubted there was ever a force on Earth that could properly wipe out her feelings. And when she had accepted she was going to die, one thing was for sure, she didn't want him to be alone. Sure, seeing him moved on would hurt her a little but seeing him alone and in pain hurt her even more. " Bruce," she whispered._ _

__He ran his hand through his hair. " I couldn't, the guilt... It was too much. You were gone. Because of me," he said. She could feel his pain through his words. " I get it, but, but, you did your best. I know you did. I never doubted that. It just hurts me... hurts me that, that you were alone for so long," she mumbled._ _

__He tilted his head. " How could I not be? Sky... Oh my god, Sky. I loved you, I loved you so much," he said. Hearing him talk in past tense crushed her heart and she looked down. Bruce slowly walked to her side and gently grabbed her hand and made her look at him by putting his other hand under her chin._ _

__" And I never stopped. I love you Sky. I love you even more," he whispered. Tears formed in her eyes. "Every day, every day that I was forced to live without you, it made me love you even more. I never, I couldn't,"_ _

__She bit the insides of her cheeks. Hearing all of that warmed her heart. She felt the same, sure, she didn't go through what he did, but she loved him. He had to live with that pain, that guilt for more than a decade._ _

__It wasn't like that with her. She was trapped in her own mind, pushed back. She experienced those twelve years behind a curtain. As if she was watching a movie. She could only watch, not respond._ _

__" I love you too," she replied. His lips twirled up. " I had been lost in the darkness. Now I finally see the light again, you're back,"_ _

__He leaned down and connected their lips. His hands traveled to her back and pulled her close. It wasn't a sexual kiss or anything. They were more than just kissing. They were kissing, hugging, touching each other's bodies, feeling each other's presence. It was like their way to say hello again. Reuniting with each other._ _

__

__They were laying down on the bed, Skylar curled up in his chest. He was holding her close, so close as if he was afraid she was just a dream and she'd disappear. He had many dreams like these in the past years, knowing it would never come true. And now that it did, he was scared of waking up._ _

__Tears were silently running down her face as she felt peace. She felt safe in his arms, like she always did._ _

__" Sky, I know this isn't the time... But, how did this happen? How are you here? Ra's told me you were dead," he said. Skylar nodded and looked up. She figured this question was coming._ _

__" I was," she said. " And then I woke up in a Lazarus Pit. He had brought me back," she explained. She remembered those moments vividly._ _

__She gasping for air and opening her eyes inside a green fluid. Ra's and Talia standing over her body. The pain she felt. The screams and the horror. Them locking her in a small room in darkness for what felt like centuries. She, alone, in the darkness with all kinds of delusions._ _

__Every day they told her that until she learned to control it she'd be here. At first, she didn't even recognize who they were and didn't understand what they said. It took her a few years but she did. She surpassed all the crazy down. But with doing that, she remembered everything. She tried to run away only to be blacked out. The last thing she remembered was that a pale guy with his brain showing inside a glass smiling down at her. Then she woke up as Zero._ _

__She told Bruce about it all. " I don't know, I guess Talia must've liked me. You know me, I was never the one to hold my tongue. I guess she liked that. She decided to keep me around and since I didn't remember much, I was by her side. She introduced me to Lady Shiva. They trained me for years. Until I became what they wanted to me. Until I wouldn't resist what they asked me to do," she said._ _

__" Bruce, I've killed many people. It was like a part of me was still in there but I couldn't control my body. I saw it all happen, I lived through all of it but only from through a glass. It was like watching a movie. I have killed so many," she broke into tears again._ _

__He wiped her tears away. " That wasn't you. You could have killed Wilson tonight, but you didn't. You stopped. You are not what they made you. Not anymore. You are Skylar," he said. She closed her eyes. " Are you sure? How can I live with all of that guilt? Knowing I took lives, knowing I attacked loved ones... like tonight,"_ _

__He grabbed her face. " Because I know you. You are not your sins. You could never be. You're the incredible woman that captured my heart. You are my light," he said. He looked confident. It made her believe too, he nodded. " Okay," she mumbled. She had many things to face within herself, but knowing she had him by her side, she knew she could do it._ _

__She intertwined her fingers to his. " I believed that you would come. When I was with Talia. I refused to believe otherwise, despite her taunts. Months had passed and there was no sign, then I lost hope," she said. She saw the guilt on his face._ _

__" And when I broadcasted that message, I was filled with hope again. I knew you'd pick it up, I believed," she continued. " But I was too late," he said. She shook her head. " It was my fault. Talia had caught me and I went off on her. I remember it now, I was sure you'd come now so I stopped playing nice with her and screamed at her. She got angry and attacked me. If it wasn't for that, you'd be there in time," she explained._ _

__She remembered how Talia beat her up. But there was something missing in her mind still. Why was she kidnapped? Why was she held up a prisoner by the al Ghul's? Whom did the write the last of the letter to? Why wasn't she protecting her head but her belly when Talia was hitting her?_ _

__Then it all came back._ _

__Skylar learning she was pregnant. Telling Bruce. Them celebrating. Picking out baby names. Talia saying they'd take her baby away and kill her._ _

__" Bruce," she gasped and sat up in the bed. " Where is he? Where is Damian? Where's our son?" she asked frantically. She hated herself that it took her so long to remember. She was pregnant. That was why she couldn't put up a good fight when she was kidnapped. She couldn't hurt her baby._ _

__" Sky, calm down, I'll explain. Everything," he said. She jumped up from the bed. " No, where is he? Where is my son, Bruce? I need to see him," she exclaimed. Bruce sighed. " Sit down for a minute, please, love. I need to tell you something,"_ _

__So he told her about the events of the last years. Talia hiding him from everyone. Training him to take over one day. Telling him that she and Ra's were his mother and grandfather. Wilson being jealous and wanting to kill him. Talia dropping Damian to him, the truth coming out. All the hardships Bruce faced with Damian._ _

__Skylar buried her face in her hands and Bruce heard faint crying from her. " I can't believe this," she mumbled. " He was right under my nose for all of those years, I was by his side. And I believed he was Talia's son. I helped him drop him off to you. I was at that boat when he said he wanted to stay with you. I comforted Talia when he chose you. I listened to her heartbreak after her 'beloved', I comforted her! And that day- I was so close to you that day, and him too, when he said he wanted to stay with you and I didn't even know,"_ _

__Bruce hugged her. " You are here now. That's all that matters. Sky, look at me. You are here now and you remember. We are together again, all of us. That's what matters," he said. She chewed on her lip. " After losing you, you can't know much it means that you're here again, you were gone and you're here again. Nothing matters but us, baby. You're here now," he confidently said, putting his hands on Skylar's cheeks and making her look at him in the eye. He wanted her to see he meant every word._ _

__There were tears rolling down her eyes. She looked down. Bruce thought about how she must be feeling, with the mental barrier and everything rushing back to her. He could never know what she was going through, especially since she was a mother, and learning all of this must've been hard on her with all she went through._ _

__But she wasn't alone, after losing her like this once, Bruce would rather die himself than let anything happen to her. He was not going to make the same mistakes and he would be there for every step of the way. Sure, he was even more terrified now. Of losing her once more. He had seen what living without her seemed like and he never wanted to do that. Never again._ _

__" I want to see him, I need to meet him. Properly," she eventually said, looking up. He nodded._ _

__They walked out of the room and slowly walked inside the halls. " Does... Does he know?" she asked. Bruce nodded. " Yeah, he overheard you and Dick. He then stormed off and came to yell at me. That's how I found out. He should be in his room," he replied._ _

__They eventually stopped in front of a room. Bruce turned to her. " Let me talk to him first," he whispered and Skylar nodded. She was nervous. So nervous. She was about to meet her son. Her baby. She took a deep breath as Bruce knocked on the door and slid his head inside._ _

__" Hey," he said. " What?" someone snapped. Even hearing his voice made Skylar's heart melt. Her boy was alive and well and safe. " There's someone who wants to meet you," Bruce said. " Well, whoever that is, I don't," Damian replied sharply again._ _

__Bruce sighed. " This has been a long-awaited introduction, I think you've been waiting to meet her too," he said. That must have caught Damian's attention because Skylar heard noises. A ruffling than footsteps._ _

__Bruce opened the door fully. Skylar's eyes landed on the kid. He looked like an exact copy of Bruce. They looked so much alike. Except for his eyes, he had her eyes. " Mother?" Damian let out in surprise with a stutter. He looked shocked._ _

__Skylar's heart skipped a beat as she heard that word. Mother. She was. She was a mother, his mother. And she had been absent from his life. She was stolen from his life. But she was still her mother and she knew from day one that she loved him. He was her baby. Even though this was officially their first meeting, Skylar loved him so much. He was her baby._ _

__She kneeled in front of him to get to the same height as him. " Hello Damian," she said. Her voice was raspy and she had tears once again. Seeing her child safe meant a lot to her since the last time they were together when Skylar was Skylar was when she knew he would get taken away from her. And she had closed her eyes without even getting to see him. She never even got to see him until now as herself._ _

__They both reached for each other at the same time. Skylar embraced his body, squeezing so hard as if she was trying to put him back inside her. It was a mother thing, she wanted to protect him from everything. She finally felt herself relax as his baby hugged her tighter._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was way too emotional for me... It took multiple tries. Hope you like it and please don't hesitate to share your thoughts!


	41. Forty One

Skylar and Damian talked for a couple of hours. Catching up. Talking about themselves. Getting to know each other. They were mother and son and even though they couldn't be that until now, they were sure as hell going to be so in the future. 

After Damian went to sleep Skylar found Bruce. He had been in the kitchen with Alfred and they were talking. He was probably explaining everything to him. " I put him to bed," Skylar said as she walked next to them.

They both looked surprised. " And he went?" Alfred asked, confused. " Without rejection?"

She nodded. " Yeah. Why? Why are you all so surprised?" she asked. Bruce and Alfred shared a look. " Well, it's only 1 AM, he never goes to sleep if he knows he can go out," he replied.

She shrugged and smiled. " I told him I wanted to take him out tomorrow and he went to sleep without any fight," she said. Alfred grinned. " You really are the Wayne whisperer," he mused. Skylar couldn't contain her laughter. 

" Anyways, I must be excused now. I have grown quite old, as I'm sure you youngsters can see, and need my sleep. Goodnight," Alfred abruptly said and got up. 

Bruce smiled after him, he knew Alfred. No matter how old he got he always had their backs and he was doing this on purpose, giving him and Skylar some space.

Bruce turned to Skylar. " So it went well?" he asked. She nodded. " Oh, Bruce. He's amazing, more than I could ever imagine. He's perfect," she grinned. " Yeah," he mumbled. 

Her amused face disappeared. " He did talk to me, you know... About how he felt, when he first got here. Your relationship since then," Skylar continued.

That got Bruce's attention. " I... I couldn't do it. Properly. Not without you. Everytime, everytime I looked at him, I only saw you. I know it's not an excuse," he muttered. He looked up to her eyes. " I couldn't do it without you," he repeated, his voice cracking.

He was crying. That was the first time she ever saw him cry. He hugged her waist as he silently kept on crying. Skylar hugged him back and kissed the top of his head. " I'm here now, Bruce, I'm here now," 

They went back to the bedroom after a while. " I had dreams," Skylar said after they entered the room. Bruce turned to her confused. " I had dreams when I was a prisoner. About you and me, and you and Damian. My favorite was I'd walk into the room and see you and him passed out. He was a newborn, so little, and sleeping on your chest. It was adorable," she explained.

Bruce sat on the edge of the bed. " We lost too much time," he sighed. She nodded. " I know, I don't intend to lose anymore," she replied. He looked up to her. " Neither do I," he said in a low tone. He brushed his hand against Skylar's hand.

Skylar was on her feet and she looked at him. She slowly sat on his lap as his hands wrapped around her body. She caressed his cheek with one of her hands while the other one went inside his hair. 

She loved him. So much. And they were together now. Their son was safe. Nothing was stopping them this time. She remembered how much she wished for him during those months in captivity. She had missed him too much. 

And finally, she was home. 

" I love you," she whsipered. Without giving him a chance to respond she leaned down and pressed her lips against his. He immediatly responded. Oh god, how much she missed kissing him and his hands travelling around her body. 

His hands came to her shirt and he ripped it open. As soon as she was out of that shirt, he grabbed her waist and turned them around, getting on top of her. He kept on kissing her fiercely and Skylar had never felt happier. 

The next morning Skylar woke up just a couple of hours after she and Bruce were done doing it. She meant what she said, she had lost too much time and didn't intend on doing it anymore. This would be the first morning they'd have as a family and she wanted to make it special. 

As she entered the kitchen Alfred was there. " Tea, Miss Jones?" he asked. " Sure," she smiled. They sat at the table and Alfred filled her in all the things that happened in the last twelve years as they drank tea. 

How grief took over Bruce and he disappeared for two months. How the Team was formed. How Dick grew up and became Nightwing. How the new Robin after him, Jason Todd, was killed by Joker because he wouldn't reveal Batman's identity. Bruce becoming devestated once again. 

How it took him a long time to get a new Robin. Tim Drake. How he grew up to be Red Robin and shortly after Damian showed up. How Bruce's cousin, Kathy Kane became Batwoman as well. How Barbara became Batgirl. 

After their talk Alfred excused himself to go because he needed to go grocery shopping. Skylar offered to go but he refused saying she should stay. Skylar decided to cook breakfast. Bruce told Dick and Barbara to come to the house in the morning so she needed to cook for a big crowd. Her time as a Leauge of Shadows Assassin didn't help her cook any better. But still, she made killer pancakes. So she got down to work.

As she was seventy percent through Bruce entered the kitchen looking panicked. He took a deep breath as he spotted Skylar cooking. " What got your panties in a bunch honey?" she asked. " It's just, I woke up and you weren't there," he said. 

She smiled. " Yeah, I wanted to cook breakfast. Remember me telling you I didn't want to waste time? This is me not wasting time and cooking for the family," she said. He smiled and hugged Skylar from behind, kissing her head. 

" I talked to Alfred, he filled me in," she said. " About what?" he asked. " You haven't been alone this time, you kept on helping people, guiding them," she explained. " Oh," he mumbled. Skylar turned to her with a smirk. " Some people call you the Batfamily, some Batman Incorporated," she mused.

Bruce rolled his eyes playfully. " Sure," he said. " It makes me feel better, knowing you weren't completely alone like you tend to do sometimes," she said. He shrugged. They stood silent as he watched her cook. But it wasn't an awkward silence like before, it was very peaceful. Being together was enough.

The silence ended when they heard footsteps in the house. " Do you think we came too early?" she heard Barbara ask. " We're in the kitchen," Skylar yelled then turned to Bruce. " Take over?" she asked him. As he swooped in her place she greeted Dick and Barbara.

Once their hug was over Barbara turned to Skylar with a curious face. She smiled. " Coffee is ready," she said. Barbara grinned. " Oh, thank god," she mumbled and walked to the machine. Dick smiled at her. " It's so great to have you back here," he said.

Skylar smiled at him. He smirked. " And look, you've become more of a grandma, making pancakes for breakfast?" he mused. She playfully hit his shoulder. " You love my pancakes," she pointed out. He nodded. " I do," 

Dick and Barbara sat on the table and Skylar pushed Bruce out of the way with her butt. " Alright, thanks love," she said and took over. Bruce leaned on the counter and kept on watching her with a subtle smile on his face. 

" Good morning," Damian said as he entered. " What is that I'm smelling?" he asked. " That would be SJ's pancakes," Dick replied. " Good morning baby," Skylar said to him. He smiled at her and sat down. 

Bruce chuckled loudly as Skylar got some of the mixture on her hair when she tried to flip the pancakes since Dick dared her to do it. " Wait, was that Bruce chuckling?" someone asked. A dark-haired teenager was standing at the door, looking surprised. 

" Timmy! You're back!" Dick exclaimed and got up to hug him. Tim dropped his bag to the ground. After their hug, Tim pointed at Skylar. " Who is that?" he asked. Skylar walked up to him. " Hi, I'm Skylar," she introduced herself. His mouth fell open. " Skylar Skylar? As in...?" he muttered. She chuckled. " Yes, in the flesh. Tell me, do you like pancakes?" she asked.

He nodded. " Of course," he replied. " Are you hungry?" she asked again. " Like a bear," he responded. " Great, take a seat, breakfast will be ready soon," she smiled. He nodded and dropped his back to the ground and sat down.

Barbara and Damian were talking about something excitedly while Dick ruffled Tim's head as he bit on one of the pancakes he stole while Skylar was talking to Tim. Skylar turned to Bruce with a smirk. " Batfamily," she whispered to him. He smirked back as he watched the kids.

Soon, Skylar was done cooking and she put the huge plate filled with pancakes onto the middle of the table. " Alright everyone, dig in!" she cheerfully said as she sat next to Bruce. Everyone was talking among themselves and it made Skylar happy.

One of her biggest fears, when she was stuck on that Island, was what would Bruce do. She knew him and his past and she feared that he would completely isolate himself from the rest of the world. It made her happy, truly happy, that he created a family for himself. Helped those in need. He wasn't completely alone for the past decade and she was grateful.

Almost everyone was finished with stuffing themselves with Skylar's pancakes. Dick and Barbara leaned back on their chairs, Dick's arm over her shoulder and they both looked full. " I seriously missed your pancakes," Dick murmured. " Don't let Alfred hear that," Barbara said. 

" No worries, he knows," Alfred suddenly said, appearing behind them. If there was one person on earth who could sneak up on a member of the Batfamily, it would be Alfred. Damian and Tim chuckled at the interaction. 

Alfred looked at his watch. " You might want to open the TV now," he said as he put a cup of tea for himself. " The UN Vote!" Dick and Barbara exclaimed at the same time. " Dorks," Damian mumbled under his breath which caused Dick to lightly hit him in the head. 

They all turned to the screen and watched the news. The law had passed. Metahumans were legalized throughout the globe. " That's a relief," Skylar sighed and leaned back on her chair. Bruce smiled at her.

Dick patted on Damian's shoulder. " See where trusting people can get you?" he asked. Damian looked at him and then to Bruce. He turned back to Dick and smiled. " Yeah," he said. " You were right," 

Dick then turned to Tim. " If you don't want to die, check your phone," he said. Tim furrowed his brows. " Dude! It's your girlfriend. As you know, when you don't answer she comes asking to me, so, please, check your phone!" he said. Tim nodded. " Okay," he replied. 

Skylar turned to the table. " So, what are everyone's plans for the day?" she asked. " Work," Bruce, Dick, and Barbara said simultaneously. " School," Tim said. Skylar rolled her eyes. " No," she simply said. Everyone looked at her surprised. 

She pointed at Dick and Barbara. " Those two look like they have barely slept in what I'm assuming the last few weeks. I'm sure coming between here and the Team HQ is tiring them out. I could practically take a nap in their under eyes," she said then turned to Tim. " And this poor boy looks so exhausted I'm surprised how he doesn't fall asleep on this table," 

" But," Tim tried to argue but Skylar interrupted him. " I don't know how things were run until yesterday. But I'm back, and I'm not letting anyone torture themselves like this. Everyone is having a vacation day," she said. 

Bruce furrowed his brows. " Everyone?" he asked. Skylar turned to her and narrowed her eyes. " Everyone," she replied. " But I have back-to-back meetings," he tried to argue. " Master Wayne, I would be happy to call and cancel them. Don't you worry about that," Alfred chimed in. He and Skylar shared a smirk. 

" Damn," Tim said with a grin. " I'm loving this new lifestyle," he continued. Skylar smiled. " Glad to hear that. I want everyone in their beds in five minutes," she said. Dick got up. " I don't need to be told twice. Barbs?" he said and the both of them walked upstairs. " So great to have you here," Tim quickly said, stuffed a piece of pancake left on his plate, grabbed his bag from the ground and walked out. 

One second later he walked back in. " Hey Skylar, can I call you Skylar?" he asked. She smiled. " Of course, sweetie," she replied. " Great. I'm getting the vibe that you're the new boss around here. Is it cool if I go see my girlfriend this evening?" he asked. " Of course," she replied. 

Alfred and Damien were chuckling. Bruce turned to Skylar. " That was very funny honey, but I really need to go to the office," he said. Skylar gave him one of his classic looks. " I'm sure last night was the only decent sleep you got in a long time. Am I wrong?" she asked. 

Bruce pouted and shook his head. " So, you're going to bed. You have been tiring yourself out and you're going to relax," she said. " I thought he had already relaxed last night," Damian snickered. Skylar turned to his son with a gasp.

He was sipping from his coffee. " What? You were pretty loud," he nonchalantly said. Her eyes widened. She turned to Bruce but he had a playful look on his face. " Even I heard it," Alfred mumbled as he sipped his tea and walked past them. She buried her face in her hands.

" Okay, okay. We're not having this talk right now," she mumbled and looked back to Bruce. " You're going back up and going to sleep. Don't make me count to five," she threatened. He smirked. " Fine, fine," he mumbled. " What will you two be doing, boss?" he mused.

Skylar turned to Damian. " I want to go see my parents, and I want them to meet Damian," she said, caressing her son's cheek. 

" We're still on for tonight for the thing though, right?" she asked. Bruce nodded. " Good, now go to sleep Mr.Wayne," 

After finally convincing Bruce to go to bed, Skylar and Damian took a Zeta tube to get to Central City. She wasn't an idiot, even if Alfred didn't tell her, she could see that Bruce looked tired. He still looked handsome as ever but he was tired. She wanted him to take care of himself, not tire himself out like this. 

First, Skylar and Damian went around the town. They talked, bonded. She told him about her memories there she had growing up. When both of them finally built up the nerve, they made their way onto her parents' house. 

She was nervous. Last night Bruce and Skylar got to talking after sex. He told her that he didn't want to upset her parents too much and only told them that an accident happened, causing both Skylar and the baby to die. She told him that her parents needed to learn the truth and that she decided to tell them everything. 

As they were standing behind the door, Damian grabbed his mother's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. She looked down at him and smiled. She rang the doorbell. She took a deep breath as she heard footsteps hurrying to the door. 

Her father opened the door. He looked older. He gasped. " Hi dad," she said. His mouth fell open, not being able to say anything. " Honey, who is it?" Adele, her mom, yelled. Upon not hearing an answer she came to the door. " Skylar?" she exclaimed.

" Hi mom," she said. Her mom started crying. " My baby!" she said and hugged Skylar. Her dad embraced both of them and they stayed like that for a bit. " How?" her mother asked. Skylar leaned back. " I will explain everything, but first, I want you to meet your grandson. This is Damian," 

Telling her parents didn't go bad. There was a lot of crying, obviously. But they quickly became adapted, and how could they not? Their only daughter had come back from the dead with their grandson. They quickly embraced Damian as well. He seemed happy too. Skylar doubted Ra's ever shown him that kind of closeness. Her parents even started snitching on Skylar by telling Damian all the stuff she got up to when she was younger.

After leaving their house, Skylar and Damian went back to the city center. They bought ice cream and they were eating it as they were walking. " You know, I never imagined you to be like this," he finally said.

She turned to him with a surprised face. " What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged. " I don't know. A prankster, troublemaker. Although, I see the second part a bit, I don't know. It's not what I pictured," 

" What? You thought I was like your father?" she asked with a grin. Damian smirked. " Boring and workaholic? Kinda, yeah," he replied. She gasped. " Not the words I would use exactly," she said with a chuckle. " Don't tell him," he snickered. " I definitely won't," 

Then they stopped because Skylar realized where they were. They were in front of Central City Police Department. " Would you like to see how much of a troublemaker I am?" she smirked. Damian grinned. "Yes, mother," 

So the two of them rushed to the waffle place Skylar and Bruce went to years ago when she was pregnant. They ordered about hundred waffles and sent them all to a Barry Allen's office in the CCPD anonymously. 

After that, they went back home. Alfred said that he would make his famous chicken for the family because it was a celebration. Skylar was back. They had until then to do what they planned for the rest of the day. 

It was noon when they got back. Not surprisingly, everyone had woken up already. Tim had gone to see his girlfriend but promised to be back until dinner. Barbara wanted to go home and change and see her parents before coming back. That left Bruce, Skylar, Dick, and Damian at the house. 

" We have about an hour and half until we need to go," Bruce said. " Yeah... What do you propose?" she asked. He smiled. " Just grab the boys and bring them out back," he said. She nodded even though she had no idea what he meant. 

Dick and Damian were playing videogames. Yes, actual videogames. They seemed to be racing each other too because as they were fighting, they were also hitting and pushing each other off the couch. 

Finally, Dick jumped to his feet. " Hahaha, yes. Suck it!" he jumped around. " Whatever," Damian mumbled as he put the controller down. " It was a lucky shot," he continued, crossing his arms. Skylar watched them with a smile on her face.

" Is the game over?" she asked. They both nodded. " Great, Bruce asked us to come outside," she said. The boys looked at each other. " Oh god," they mumbled. " I swear, if this is another last-minute grill or anything, I'm going back to bed to sleep until dinner," Dick muttered. She shrugged.

They went to where he told them. As soon as they stepped outside a basketball came their way. Dick grabbed it as a reflex since the ball was closest to him. " What's going on?" Damian asked. Bruce walked up to them with a smile. " We never had even number to play in teams, what do you say?" he asked.

Dick and Damian looked at each other and smirked. " It's on, old man," Dick cheered. Skylar walked next to Bruce. " If you think you two can get both of us," she challenged. Damian chuckled. " In our sleep," he replied. 

They played basketball for about an hour. The score was tied. It was a bummer for both teams but it meant that there would be a rematch soon, which meant the family would spend time together doing something entertaining. 

Skylar and Bruce quickly took a shower and got dressed. They had somewhere to be before the dinner. And frankly, they were all sweaty from playing. As soon as they were done, they went to the Watchtower.

One of the things they talked about last night was that Skylar really wanted to see their friends. Clark, Diana, Barry, Hal, Oliver, J'onn. She was sure the Team, as seeing most of their mentors were in that group of friends, wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. 

Plus, Skylar would have liked to surprise them. Sure, they met as 'work friends' but after three years together, they had become real friends too. So, Bruce sent them a message to meet in the Watchtower and that no one could miss it. He didn't give any other details. 

Once they got there Skylar was in awe of all the change. This place looked different too, not that she expected anything else, but it was also full of people. They had way too many members than they did in her time. Again, not surprising but it was still strange to see it. 

They walked to the meeting room. The door was half open and they could hear everything inside. " I don't know who sent it man, it was strange," Barry was saying. " I swear to god, if this is another last-minute mission about some nonsense, I'm going to flip out," Hal said. " Man! You're telling me. If I am late to another date again, Dinah will surely kill me this time," Oliver expressed. " Do you guys think it's about the UN Voting?" Diana chimed in.

Bruce turned to Skylar and they shared a smirk. Bruce opened the door loudly to gain everyone's attention. " Finall-- HOLY SHIT!" Hal exclaimed. " What the fuck?" Oliver gasped. " Great Hera" Diana let out. " I can't believe this," Clark murmured. " Skylar?" J'onn asked. " I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Barry yelled.

He sped to Skylar's side. " YOU SENT THE WAFFLES!" he said loudly. Skylar nodded as she grinned. " I wanted to give my CB a heads up," she smirked. Barry smiled and hugged her. " How is this possible?" Clark asked. " We'll explain," Bruce said. " Yeah, right after we all get a hug," Hal chimed in. Skylar hugged everyone. She had missed her friends. 

Once it was all over, Bruce and Skylar got to explaining everything. Expectedly, everyone was shocked. They told them everything from her death to letting Slade go to warn Talia. " Okay, I'm just going to say it because we're all thinking it. What the hell? That's fucked up,all of it," Oliver said.

Skylar nodded. " Yeah," she mumbled. " Man, I thought we took care of them years ago," Hal murmured. " Apparently not," Clark said. " Well, it's clear what we need to do. This can't go on. We need to take Leauge of Shadows down," Barry said. 

" Agreed," Diana added. " With Talia out of the game, Luthor won't have any partners. Without partners, he can't go on with his plan," she continued. " It's Luthor, he would certainly try," Clark said. " We'll cross that bridge when we come to that," J'onn said. 

" Okay, so it's agreed, then?" Oliver asked. Bruce nodded. " Good. Look, Jones, it's great to have you back but my girlfriend will have my head this time if I don't go now," he said. Skylar chuckled. " Sure, have fun, " she said. 

They agreed to meet and make a plan to deal with the Leauge of Shadows. Thanks to Skylar's insider information, they wouldn't be going blindsided. Talia was probably getting prepared for it because of Wilson's warning and so they had to be prepared too. 

Once it was over and everyone hugged Skylar again she and Bruce went back to the Wayne Manor. Alfred scolded them about being late, that his chicken was getting cold and that the whole family was waiting for them. They apologized like children and sat at the table with grins. 

Then, they had the first complete family dinner they had in over a decade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omggg, the next chapter is the last one!!! Can’t believe we came this far. I’m so excited!!!


	42. Forty Two

It had been a little over a month since Skylar came back. And so did Firegirl. She now knew she could never take back the pain she caused as her time as Zero but the least she could do now was stop the bad guys. 

She was surprised by how far the Leauge came far in the last decade. They had so many new members and the technology. Bruce, Dick, and Damian tried to teach it too her but there was too much new stuff. In the end, Barbara was the one who helped her understand the basics.

The Leauge carried out a mission of the Leauge of Shadows. They took down both Talia and Slade. They were in jail now. That gave Skylar plenty of satisfaction. Talia was delusional. And not the Lazarus Pit kind of delusional, crazy delusional for all the bad things she has done.

She kept her and even went out of her way to surpass her memories so she could have a friend. She kept Skylar away from Damian all of this time when they were under the same roof for so long. For that, she would never forgive Talia al Ghul. Although she felt a tiniest bit sad that Talia had gone into all of that trouble to have a friend by her side showed how alone she really was. Still, it didn't excuse her actions and didn't bring time back.

Skylar had also reunited with her best friend, Lois Lane. They hugged and cried for about ten minutes. Then, since neither of them was pregnant anymore, they let the dads take care of their kids as they got drunk on Lois and Clark's couch.

It was kind of their tradition anyway. Getting terribly drunk together while Bruce and Clark had to hold them because they couldn't stand on their own. It was around 10 when they and the kids came back to the house.

" Here comes the papa's!" Lois cheered. " Have you guys had fun?" Skylar asked, slurring her words terribly. " We sure did, how about you?" Clark spoke slowly, as if he was talking to a child so they could understand.

Lois and Skylar shared a look. " We had fun," Skylar replied. " You guys are back early. What, missed us too much?" Lois asked. " Yeah, it's the afternoon, go out, have fun!" Skylar encouraged. Bruce smirked. " Afternoon was two bottles ago baby," he said.

Skylar gasped as if she was told the most interesting in the whole world. " Get out! I'm sure the sun is still up! Loo- Oh my god," she mumbled as she turned around and it was nighttime. " Lois!" she gasped. " Don't look at me, it was your idea to get the second bottle!" Lois exclaimed. " Because we were gossiping! Quit snitching on me!"

Bruce and Clark shared a look. They smiled. Having to deal with this way better than what they were use to.

Jon walked up to his mother. " Mommy, I'm sleepy," he tucked at the edge of his mother's shirt. " Okay baby, we'll put you to bed," Lois said and smiled. " But first say goodnight to everyone," she said. Jon nodded. " Good night Damian, Uncle Bruce and Auntie Skylar. Nice to meet you,"

" Nice to meet you too buddy, good night," Skylar replied. Clark grabbed his boy and went to his room to put Jon to bed. Skylar turned to her bed. " I guess it's time to go," she mumbled. " Okay," Lois said.

" We're still on for brunch this Sunday?" she asked. Skylar turned to Bruce. He seemed surprised. " Sure Lois, we'll be there," he stuttered. Both of the girls smiled and hugged one more time. " Okay, we'll get out of your hair, for now, take care,"

Once they were out of Lois and Clark's apartment Bruce turned to Skylar. He was holding her from her waist to prevent her form falling. " I'm guessing you two had your fun," he said. Skylar smiled. " You know it," she mumbled. " I missed her so much,"

" She missed you too, terribly," Bruce replied. " Well, we'll better catch up at Brunch this weekend," she said. " Sure," he said. " Is this how she always gets when she drinks?" Damian asked with a smirk. Bruce grinned. " Only with Lois," he replied to his son. 

Two days later Skylar was in the living room. She was sitting at the edge of the couch with her coffee and she was watching Dick and Damien training in the garden. Seeing them get along made her heart fill with happiness. She found out from the others that they didn't use to and seeing them friendly now did put a smile on her face.

Suddenly she was hugged from behind. From his cologne and the fact that no other person would hug her like that she got that it was Bruce. " Good morning honey, how was the meeting?" she asked. He had woken up earlier to have a conference call meeting with Bejing.

" Good," he replied. " Watching our boys?" he asked. She nodded. " Yeah, seeing them happy is making me happy," she answered. " That has been a bumpy ride," he commented. " Yeah, so I have been told," she sighed.

Bruce kissed her neck. " Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask you," he said. Skylar put down her coffee. " Yeah?" she mumbled. " I was thinking, with everything that happened, we never got to do something," he said.

Skylar furrowed her brows. Then Bruce put his hand up. He was holding something. A ring. Skylar's ring. The one he proposed with. " You kept it?" she gasped and turned around. " All this time?" she asked.

Bruce nodded. " Of course, it was one of the very little things left of you," he answered. Skylar smiled. " I love you," she said and leaned in to kiss him but Bruce took a step back. " No," he mumbled. He grabbed her hand and went down on one knee again.

" Bruce," Skylar grinned. " I've already said yes before, my mind hasn't changed," she said. Bruce chuckled. " I know, that was not what I was going to ask," he said. " Skylar, don't you think it's due time you officially become a Wayne? After everything we've been through, can we get married now?"

Skylar was grinning like an idiot even more. " Yes, and yes," she chuckled. Bruce gladly put the ring back on her finger. He got up and swiftly kissed her. Skylar wrapped her arms around him. " I love you," 

Two months later Skylar Marie Jones officially became Skylar Marie Wayne.

She had told Bruce of the dream she had, that they were going to have their honeymoon in Paris. So he surprised her with tickets to Paris. She wasn't really surprised. All throughout their relationship whenever Skylar expressed her interest in something Bruce made it into reality. He was seriously spoiling her. More ever since she came back.

Skylar woke up with Bruce kissing the back of her head. " Good morning Mr. Wayne," she mumbled. He threw his arm over her. " Good morning Mrs. Wayne," he replied. She smiled at that. She loved hearing that, it finally becoming a reality.

She opened her eyes. Bruce had found the perfect hotel. It had a little balcony that looked over to the Eiffel Tower. They had spent the night drinking wine on the balcony and talking. Their room was just like out of a movie. There were colorful flowers everywhere and the view was amazing.

" I know you want to go explore the city but I am not ready to leave the bed yet," Bruce mumbled and turned her body around to kiss her. She smiled. " We have a couple of more days here, don't we? Let's stay in," she murmured.

Bruce smirked. " Don't tempt me, we'll never leave," he said between the kisses. She giggled. " Then we won't," she replied and got on top of him. As they were kissing they stopped with loud knocking on the door.

" Mother, Father, we're going out!" Damian yelled. Oh, yeah. They brought the kids to Paris too. Yes, this was their honeymoon but Skylar didn't want to leave them behind and she thought they could turn this into a family vacation. At least the last few days.

But getting caught by your kids in the middle of being intimate, that would always make her embarrassed. She jerked back and she and Bruce silently chuckled at the situation. " You got your phones?" Bruce loudly asked. " We always do!" Tim replied.

" Alright, be safe! Love you!" Skylar shouted. " Just keep it down a little! I don't want to get kicked out of the hotel, lovebirds!" Dick yelled loudly and hit the door a couple of times. Skylar laughed and leaned on Bruce's shoulder. " We seriously need to learn how to be more silent," she muttered.

Bruce smirked. " Well, they're gone now, we can be silent once we go back to Gotham. Now, _embrasse moi, mon amour _" he said. Skylar bit down on her lip. " God, I love it when you speak French,"__

__Bruce happily obliged. Yes, his life sucked. Yes, he suffered too much pain. But he had also found happiness. He had found love. He had allowed himself to be happy and he had found a family. He was no longer alone. He had a wife he adored so much. He had kids. The eight-year-old Bruce Wayne who lost his parents at that dark alley would have never seen this coming. And come to think of it, it all started with Bruce catching feelings with the amazing woman that walked into his life unexpectedly._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! We have come to the end of this story! Sure, it has been a bumpy ride, sad and emotional sometimes but we made it and we do have a happy ending, so YAY! Thank you to everyone who read it so far and stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I’d really like to know your opinions about the story so please don’t be shy to comment throughout it! Thanks :)


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